Wing Moves On
by QuietReign
Summary: chapters 10-15
1. Default Chapter Title

Ah yes... the beauty of words on paper. One of the things I love about being a writer is that the plot can change within the blink of an eye! And not only that but being the one who decides what will happen without being really sure of what -WILL- happen!! Too cool!   
*Disclaimer* The characters and locations original to Gundam Wing do not belong to me, nor do I claim them! I only claim the ones that were conjured up by my very own imagination. I write cause I like it   
and I can so nobody sue me...  
  
DEALINGS IN CONFLICT  
  
The room was silent. Wufei and Heero stared dead into each other's eyes. The opposition between the two of them was great.  
Quatre sat in his chair rubbing his face. He could not believe the words he read and the information contained in the packet over took him.  
Duo and Trowa stood quietly watching Wufei and Heero.  
"If you -knew- about this, -why- did you keep it from us?"  
Wufei stood at the edge of the desk peering over at Heero.  
"This didn't come in until -Today-," he pointed out harshly.  
"You said you knew since three weeks ago," Trowa yelled.  
"Calm down," Quatre broke in. He was rubbing his head as though he were in severe pain.  
"-NO-" yelled Duo.  
"Shut- Up," called Wufei simultaneous to Duo's expression.  
Heero and Trowa stared coldly at Quatre.  
"If someone has staged war on us, then we -Need- to stick together!"  
They all knew Quatre was right. He was the sensitive one and it was his sensitivity that always seemed to take the edge off the tension. Not so now, however.  
"What the..." Trowa flipped through pages back and forth and then went through every one struck with bewilderment. "You -knew- about this?" He held the stack in his hand, anger burning in his eyes. Tears were beginning to build inside but he chose to push them back deep inside. He'd done enough "crying" he felt. "Look at this," he snarled as he flipped the pages in front of him. "-LOOK-! Everything there is to know about our Gundams, our back grounds..." he threw the packet down on the desk. "You're a Real -Pal-, Yuy."  
Heero had looked through the whole packet when he first received it early that morning. There were pages with blueprints of each Gundam. Also entailed, along with full-scale data on each of the pilots, was information from their place of birth to their training periods. Information about their known families right down to their blood type. It was an objective that someone had taken great links to fill out. An objective obtained by someone -an ally unknown- who felt obligated to get this information to Heero. Someone who felt he and the other pilots deserved a chance to win this battle.  
Duo felt the need to defend his friend, he'd seen the pages too.  
"Come on, Trowa..."  
"-WE- were attacked, Duo! Miss -Relena- was attacked!"  
Duo stared at Heero who now wore the consumption of guilt.  
"Heero... how could you have known? You said so yourself she wasn't a target!"  
"-No-," Heero yelled. "I said it -appeared- that she was not who they were after and that she was the -least- of my concerns!"  
"Yeah," Trowa sneered, "just like there were no others that we needed to worry about, right?"  
"Shut -up, Trowa," Duo called.  
"You guys are -Weak-! Enough already! It's no -wonder- they're after us! -We- can't even stage a retaliation we're at each other's throats!"  
"Yeah and you're -soooo- strong, Mr. 'I take crap from no one'!"  
In two short steps, Wufei was holding Trowa by the collar. "Well at least -I- don't cry like a little girl at the death of a soldier who open-fired on me!"  
The emotion of tears Trowa had felt dissipated into rage but he remained as though he had been nothing but calm.  
Wufei let him go and stepped away. "And you," he said to Heero, "we were supposed to work together. It's obvious that you know nothing of battling as a team."  
"He--ey! Wa--it a minute!" Duo's expression met Wufei's eyes. "-You- were the one who always fought alone! What the hell do you know about 'team work'?"  
Wufei glared at him, heartlessly. "I know enough that you don't keep stuff like this from your friends."  
Finally there was silence. Quatre rubbed his head excessively. The others picked up on his pain.  
"Regardless of Heero's actions- or any of ours-" he looked up, "the fact of the matter -IS- that someone wants us dead and right now," he looked at his watch. One twenty-three a.m. "Right now, we should just try and get some rest."  
Each pilot retreated to his own room. The day had been long and difficult, what could be more inviting than a cool, soft bed?  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Relena opened her eyes and squinted at the darkness. Light from the moon came in through her window.  
"Mmmm," she winced and moved in pain of her splitting headache.  
"Relena-" Lucrezia jumped up turning on the light.   
Relena gave a startled cry and then held her head.  
"What happened?"  
Lucrezia handed her a cup of water and an aspirin. "We'll talk in the morning, get some -rest-," she spoke.  
Relena drank down the aspirin and half the glass of water. "You mean I haven't 'rested' enough already?"  
Lucrezia gave a wry smile.  
"In the morning, Miss Relena."  
Before she had to do more convincing Relena was back asleep.  
Now that she'd been woken up, she was unsure of whether she'd be able to return. She walked back to her chair by the window in hopes that she'd be able to get back to her dreamland even though she could not remember her dreams. She looked out the window at the bright moon and then sank into the chair. Sleep became her instant best friend.  
  
~~~  
  
Sally watched the young soldier. He reminded her of when she first "met" Heero. -If you can call that a true meeting, she gathered. Only this child, for he was just that exactly, was not nearly as strong. He was going to die soon from the amount of blood loss. Seita was a good shot- if she'd have hit him two inches in either direction he would have been dead already. DOA.  
"Woman."  
Sally tensed at the sound of the voice but did not turn around. Wufei hadn't talked to her since she scolded him about training Relena.  
"I'm talking to you."  
Still she did not move to look at him. Instead, she got up to check on the vitals of her patient. She managed to acquire some help from the base. Off duty medics would often times volunteer their services to her and tonight was one of those nights.  
"Major Sally," a young man spoke, "he's losing the battle, isn't he?"  
Sally laughed inside, ignoring him as well. She wasn't a 'Major' anymore and hadn't been for some time. But it made the young medics comfortable to refer to her in such a manner declaring that to -them- it was a form of respect.  
"Sal-?"  
Sally walked out of the examining area quietly.  
"James, just give me a few minutes, ok?"  
The young man nodded and sat down at the previously occupied desk.  
Sally walked out of her house and stood in the night air. It was almost dawn.  
"Woman, are you going to look at me?"  
She didn't. The moon was more appealing, she thought. "What do you want, Wufei?"  
"For you to look at me."  
She took in a deep breath. "Why are you here?"  
He put his hands on her shoulders. She tensed but could not stay that way for long. His hands were much too warm and gentle on her shoulders. He stepped up close to her and kissed the back of her neck and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.  
"Wufei..." she protested but did nothing to stop him.  
"Look at me."  
She wouldn't.  
"Woman! How hard is it to just turn around and look at me?"  
-How hard is it to say you're sorry?  
"Sally... I love you."  
-Nope... not good enough.  
"Please, Sal... I'm sorry that I hurt you... you hurt me too."  
She turned around. His eyes were sad. The darkness of his features had been brought out by the events of the day.  
"Perhaps I should have left you alone with her. She doesn't seem to mind training, does she?"  
Wufei brushed a stray hair away from her face. "I love you and it should not have had to go that far."  
"I'm sorry," she said.  
"Don't be. -I- am the weak one."  
"It's not my place to tell you what to do."  
She stared at him wanting to be nothing more than held. Somehow she knew that a battle was coming. Her revelation went beyond the fact that there had been two attacks on them already. She had known nothing of Heero's information but by looking into the eyes of the man she was in love with- her man- she knew that there was definitely -something- going on. Soon he'd be off in Nataku fighting for some mission or belief or for his life or for hers... it didn't matter. Would war endeavor to leave them alone?  
"Wufei..." she said as the tears came flooding uncontrollably.  
He held her close to him knowing that somehow she knew. "I'm sorry, Sally." He could feel her tears as they ran down her cheek onto his shoulder. The tank top he wore did not soak up the wetness very well but he didn't care. He held her close anyway and let her cry.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Duo woke up for the last time. The sun had not risen yet. All through the night since they'd left the study he'd been caught with only minutes of sleep at a time. Every time he closed his eyes he felt a gun at the back of his head or saw a snake slithering around his feet. Several times he heard Dorothy's voice only to discover that when he turned around in the dream he was looking at Hilde. Other times he could hear the heartless voice of Heero telling him that he was mortal. He could not take it any longer. In his last bout for sleep, he saw the words from the packet. They jumped around before his eyes.  
"Kill remaining Gundam pilots."  
-Remaining Gundam pilots... -Kill pilots... -remaining pilots.... -remaining...  
Duo opened his eyes. -THIS- was the last time. He had dreamed it again. This time he got out of bed. Putting on a pair of sweat pants over his boxers, he left the house for a morning run. He made it halfway down to the water when he passed Relena and Lucrezia.  
Lucrezia whistled teasingly at him.  
"Hey, Duo! Do you -always- run without a shirt?"  
Relena elbowed her as she blushed enough for the two of them, pushing out of her imagination an image of Heero running without a shirt.  
"It's hot," he yelled back irritably and continued his run in the early light.  
"I'll say," Lucrezia smiled and then looked at Relena.  
Relena began to blush again and turned away with a smile.  
"Heero or Duo?" Lucrezia teased.  
"Why would I imagine Duo when I just saw him and Heero would never..."  
"Oh no?"  
Relena stared at her friend and then looked away to protect herself of self-incrimination. Lucrezia laughed.  
  
At the knock of the door, Trowa stood up from his place on the balcony and looked down.  
"Quatre and Heero are at Sally's," he said and then stepped away.  
  
~~~  
  
"He died an hour ago," Sally said as she cleaned up the office. "Wufei and James took him down to the base morgue."  
Heero was less than grim.  
"So I take it he said nothing, then."  
Sally shook her head. "Nothing."  
Quatre had been standing on the porch staring out into the world as it got brighter with the rising sun. He watched as Wufei pulled up with three passengers. Seita, Relena and... he smiled... Lucrezia.  
"Hi Quatre!"  
Quatre barely acknowledged Seita's greeting and walked over to the other door helping Relena and Lucrezia out of the hummer.  
"Where's Trowa?"  
"Woman-child, give it a -rest-!" Wufei had slowly become irritated with her at first but now she was like a nemesis to him. First it was Quatre and since that went down the drain with his re-opened communication with Lucrezia, now she was after Trowa. Soon she'd realize that he was much too complex for her and would go after Duo since he was the other one who was seemingly available.  
"What- ever," she chided.  
"Hey!" he pointed his finger at her. Intimidating her was one of his strong points against her. It was something he did well and rather enjoyed.  
"Respect, Seita." Lucrezia stared with a stern, -mean- look in her eyes.  
"I know, I know... penalty run." She took off in a slight spring away from the rest of the group and world.  
  
~~~  
  
Duo stood on the beach, hands on knees trying to catch his breath. He'd run about eight or nine miles and felt to do more but something stopped him. Moments passed and he decided to head back. He hadn't realized that he'd run so far off from the road. Perhaps it had been more than what he thought the distance actually was.   
Once he made it to the road it him, or rather -She- hit him. His thoughts collided with her force.  
-Remaining pilots- is what he thought.   
"Oh, Mr. Duo... I am so sorry..." is what he heard.  
Seita had run smack into him knocking him to the ground and now frantically tried helping him but he ignored her assistance.  
"What are you doing here?"  
Seita bowed her head.  
"Penalty run." She waved off Duo's questioning eyes. "Never mind," she said as she tried holding her tongue at the site of his bare naked upper body. His muscles rippled as he moved and sweat glistened on his skin. His hair was matted to his face and neck but the braid swung freely. "Want to finish your run with me?"  
Duo looked up the hill. He realized that she was showing fascination in his build and knocked off more points for not wearing a shirt. -It's hot- he defended himself. "Nah, thanks. I gotta get back," he said and left her alone.  
"He's still no Quatre," she sighed as she watched him easily run the hill, "but mmm, mmm, mmm."  
  
~~~  
  
Trowa stared suspiciously at the man. He had pinned the mail carrier to the wall in an angered fit. "Who did it -come- from," he growled demanding information.  
"I... I... I don't know... please, Sir..." he was choking.  
"Isn't it your -job- to know?"  
"Please..." the man coughed trying helplessly to get the tiniest bit of air into his lungs. "It's my job to deliver..."  
Trowa released him of the hold. The man rubbed his throat and stared viciously and confused at Trowa. "Look Mr. Barton..." he coughed some more, "I don't know what this is about..." a deep breath, "but whatever it is, you need to stop and pay attention to what you're doing."  
Trowa glared at him. "Don't you have a job to do?"  
Thanks to Trowa's temper, that job now consisted of picking up the hundreds of envelopes on the floor that had been knocked out of the bag from Trowa's rage.  
  
"Whoa! What happened here?"  
Duo looked down, astonished at the man's mission. He bent down and helped him pick up the letters.  
"Mr. Maxwell... you really should talk to your friend... it's not his responsibility to concern himself with -your- mail."  
Duo watched in confusion as the mail carrier left.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Quatre walked beside Lucrezia through the park. They hadn't had a lot of time to talk the night before and he wanted to say -something- to her. He couldn't figure out what exactly, or how.  
"Quatre... why were you jealous in the first place?"  
Quatre pondered the question with much thought.  
-Because I love you, he wanted to say.  
"I don't know. I saw you in the coffee shop... he had managed to make you smile..."  
Lucrezia looked across her shoulder at her friend.  
"Quatre... Quince and I have been friends and coworkers for a -long- time! You, of all people, should know that there is -Nothing- to our friendship beyond -that-"  
He sighed.  
"Feelings change, Lucrezia... people change."  
"What's -that- supposed to mean," she demanded. "Are you saying that -I've- changed or that -You've- changed, Quatre?"  
It was not supposed to go like this. The conversation was supposed to be sweet and lovely and full of words of love and romance. This was not what he had planned.  
"No... that's not what I meant!"  
His eyes were soft and sad.  
"Then what, Quatre?"  
He didn't know. "You were spending so much time with him and I knew that Marinova's death hurt you a lot--"  
"Then -why- couldn't you go with me, Quatre? I -asked- you to go with me and what did you   
-say-?"  
--"I have stuff to take care of here,"-- he sighed defeated at his memory.  
"Lucrezia..." he could see the hurt in her eyes. "I don't know."  
"I don't believe you, Quatre. Wufei- yes! I can see -him- acting this way... but not you!"  
"What? What do you mean -Wufei-?"  
"I -mean- I can see him acting in a jealous manner..."  
"Toward -who-?"  
"Who else, Quatre! With Sally!" She became confused. "How... When did Wufei become part of this?"  
"-You- mentioned him!"  
Lucrezia's eyes widened and then narrowed. Complete and utter confusion wrote itself all over her expressions. "Quatre... you are so... -Dense-!"  
"-WHAT-?"  
He stood in front of her, visibly upset... -profoundly- upset.  
"-Dense-? How can you say that? What is this about, anyway?"  
Lucrezia began her self-defense but stopped herself more confused than before. "Wh... I..." she repositioned her stance and stared blankly at him.  
The sun had risen completely and now shined through the trees. The air blew gently through the trees, rustling birds and other creatures from their hiding places.  
"You," she finally blurted, "are jealous."  
"Correction," he put his hand up in front of her, "I -was-jealous."  
"Oh, and now you're not?"  
"Do I have any -reason- to be?"  
"Well then..." She had a theory about Quatre and was dying to test it. "If -that's- the case then you won't mind that I'm going out with Trowa tonight." Her eyes narrowed at him as she studied his reaction.  
-Trowa? WHAT?  
"-Fine-. Why would I be jealous of Trowa?"  
-Damn, she thought. "Why would you be jealous of Quince?"  
"Why was I jealous in the first place?"  
"I don't know, Quatre! You tell me!"  
"I'm telling you now. It was a stupid notion and I have no reason now- nor did I then to be jealous. Do what you want."  
He walked off leaving her standing shocked and appalled at his words and actions.  
"Quatre--" she called but he did not turn around. Perhaps her theory was wrong. She stood disarrayed at the situation.  
"Wait a minute," she asked herself, "What just happened here?"  
  
~~~  
  
The day was passing quickly. It was already close to lunchtime when Heero made it back to the house. He walked in to find Trowa storming out of the kitchen.  
"Yeah, well it's not your concern," he heard Duo yell.  
Trowa ignored Heero and walked up the stairs. Duo came out of the kitchen and upon sight of Heero turned back around.  
"Hold it, Duo," Heero called as he noticed a paper or envelope of sorts in his hand.  
"Not -now-, Heero. Go..." he fumbled for word, "play with Relena or something."  
For the briefest of moments, Heero actually entertained the idea and then mentally kicked himself for even considering the words. -Fool, he muttered at himself as he walked into the kitchen.  
"Duo..."  
Duo turned around, red with anger.  
"What, Heero?"  
Heero cleared his throat. Duo gave in to his friend's silent conviction. He shoved the envelope across the table feeling completely distraught and sat down.  
Heero picked it up and read the words before opening it. "Death Consumes the Weak".  
"Hmm," he opened the letter curiously staring at Duo's frustrated face. -Ahem- "Dearest My Lord," he contemplated Duo's reaction at his audible reading. "I have waited patiently but to no avail. I would have imagined that you would have had more consideration..."  
"Heero... why are you antagonizing me with this? I've already read it!"  
Heero glared at him and read on. "... more consideration for one who is so loyal. And since I have not had a suitable response from you, perhaps this will inspire you..."  
Duo pushed away and stood up. Heero continued.  
"... perhaps... think back to November 1 AC 199." Duo coughed uncomfortably. Heero remembered- as, obviously, had Trowa. He looked up at Duo. "I want my interview."  
Duo stared out the window. "I can't take this any more! I'm losing sleep, Heero. Only now..."  
"You're seeing Hilde."  
Duo looked up, almost shocked. Did Heero know him -that- well?  
"Yeah."  
Heero put the letter back into the envelope.  
"Let go, Duo."  
"I can't."  
Heero sighed. Would Duo become that threat again?  
"Heero... what do the words 'Remaining pilots' mean to you?"  
Heero fell silent. He, too, had been concentrating on those words. "Kill -remaining- Gundam   
-pilots-."  
"Hmmm. I've been thinking about that too."  
  
* ~~~~~ * ~~~~~ *  
  
Relena looked directly on the small speck on the wall as Sally flashed a small light into her eyes.  
"Everything looks normal- where exactly are you feeling pain?"  
Relena felt certain that Sally's concern would never reach Heero. It was the "patient-doctor privilege."  
"Here," she said pointing above her eyes.  
"It might just be sinus pressure, Relena." She eyed the young girl. "That's not why you're here, is it?"  
Relena began to cry. Sally held her thoughts momentarily.  
"Relena... you know its inevitable."  
"I know," she cried, trying to compose herself. "I just don't understand why!"  
Sally handed her a tissue and then another. "How did you find out?"  
Relena dried her eyes. "I was attacked." She brushed away her sarcasm apologizing to Sally who stared un-offended at her reaction. "I didn't... I can feel it."  
"I know... I did too."  
"Sally... will we ever have a time without war? -Truly- a time of peace?"  
Sally walked away from Relena and stared out the window.  
"Relena... peace cannot come about unless war exists. Someone once said that people don't know how to live without war. And so... there is the endless circle of peace prevails over war which would not have come about without someone wanting to be in control of total pacifism."  
It was a dizzying intellect.  
Relena agreed.  
"A senseless war started by senseless people."  
Sally sighed.  
  
  
11.  
Ah yes... the beauty of words on paper. One of the things I love about being a writer is that the plot can change within the blink of an eye! And not only that but being the one who decides what will happen without being really sure of what -WILL- happen!! Too cool!   
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "The Unknown Ally" is the next part in the series, however, for the purpose of explanation, I have subtitled it into two parts. I find that it works better this way. *teeheehee*   
*Disclaimer* The characters and locations original to Gundam Wing do not belong to me, nor do I claim them! I only claim the ones that were conjured up by my very own imagination. I write cause I like it   
and I can so nobody sue me...  
  
THE UNKNOWN ALLY  
Part I: Where Friends Come In  
  
*Somewhere in the L3 Colony Cluster*  
  
-So they wish to continue this battle, do they? Well, -I- intend to stay on top of this one to the end.  
-It's been so long. Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone? Those five young men don't deserve to live a life of continual battle. They should be living peaceful lives with the ones they love...  
-Love... what do I know of love? Have I -ever- loved? Am I capable?  
  
"This just came in over the air, Commander. We intercepted it." The young man waited silently as he watched his CO stare out the window into the depths of the stars of space before them. It had been quite some time since the Commander spoke to anyone.  
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Leave it on my desk."  
"Yes, Commander."  
-We have a new transmission. Well... they do keep up a standard procedure of persistence, do they not?  
The CO turned to look at the stack of papers left by the young man. It was another order toward the pilots.  
-So... it was -you- who took out the Deathscythe that most horrid first day-- or would it be more appropriate to say 'last' day?  
-Well then... Lets' just see what we can do to alleviate you of this command, shall we?  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
Three days had past swiftly by. The five young men were able to put hostility aside that they might conjure up some sort of significant plan to retaliate against this nameless enemy.  
The enemy who enticed Hilde into killing General Marinova, who managed somehow to elude the Federation and make their threat against the Gundam pilots.  
"I have a feeling that if we get to the source -one way or the other- we will not only find out who is behind the warrant on our heads but we'll find out -also- where those letters are coming from."  
Trowa still felt the tiniest bit of resentment toward Duo after the latest letter had arrived. But after a while it didn't matter anymore. Someone was after -him-; after -them-.  
"Carter has asked that we bring this to himself and the military board in order that they may assist in whatever way they can."  
Heero had thought this out rather thoroughly but had not responded back to the Commander in Chief.  
"This is -our- battle, Heero! Those letters weren't addressed to the people of Repudiation! They were addressed to Duo! And this," Wufei shook the packet in mid air, "pertains to   
-Us-!" He was infuriated. "This is not the time to be thinking like weaklings!"  
"Did anyone stop to think about how -I- feel about any of this? Do you think I -LIKE- finding out that someone out there -knows- why and -how- I was shot down that day?"  
Duo's happy-go-lucky demeanor had left him. To the grave with Hilde they believed it went.  
"Duo, no one is trying to rob you of your feelings! We're simply pointing out the facts," Heero replied calmly.  
"Yeah, well I don't like it! The fact is..."  
A knock at the door broke him of his train of thought. Weidam stood in the doorway.  
"Master Heero, this just in for you, Sir."   
Heero walked over to the young man and took the letter from the tray and sent him away closing the door. He opened it in front of the others and after scanning it, read it out loud.  
"It is for my affection of peace that I send the following information. Unfortunately, my hopes for peace have been wiped clean by pressures of an upcoming war."  
The "following information" was a detailed report of the damage Deathscythe Hell had endured in its descending fury to the earth from the sky.  
"This proves it," Trowa said. "Find the source of this and you find the perps all together."  
  
Duo inspected the information and fell to the ground. He was completely terror struck and awed at the same time. -Who- else would have the same information about his findings of the damage of his Mobil suit? He fell backward flat on his back and lay there in silence. The others watched likewise.  
"I don't believe this," Duo muttered before closing his eyes.  
--"I'm going in Heero. The god of Death strikes again."  
"Be careful Duo."  
-Hey! This is me! Since when has being 'careful' been a part of my work? Neat, perhaps.. careful? Ok, Heero... for Hilde.--  
Duo thought back to the day, November 1 AC 199. He had just shut off all communications and began swiping his blade of death at enemy Mobil suits, destroying buildings and laid the final blow that set the base ablaze and sent him into the air.  
-- "Hey, what do you know! Looks like they took the bait after all... -WHAT the Hell?"  
A flash came so sudden and so bright that he was temporarily blinded. In his moment of darkness he fumbled for a switch and reopened communication but it was too late. He was plunging in a direct beeline for the earth. He could hear Quatre's voice, "-NO--------" and then another blast sent him into unconsciousness before he heard one last cry from his friend. "Death... (static)... down..."--  
He never felt the impact of the machine hitting the earth nor of himself falling out of the suit and landing -from what he remembered- several hundred yards away from the wreckage.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Word had just come back to the Commander that its addressee had received the letter. The young soldier had radioed the message in saying he waited to see that one Mr. Heero Yuy received it and when he was certain departed the area.  
-Well done.  
"Make ready my shuttle."  
"Commander?" The noncommissioned officer stared saluting the dress uniform.  
"Are you questioning me, Sergeant Major Dox?"  
Dox stared in obliterated fear at his CO, declaring that he was not and would not do such a thing as that.  
"Will you be needing an escort?"  
"Are you volunteering? Very well, then. Now get moving."  
The CO turned around and once again stared through the confines of the glass into outer space.  
-I have a need to visit the earth. Who else can take hold of matters for these young men. It will all take place soon enough, gentlemen... unfortunately, soon enough.  
  
*~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
Heero sat comfortably in a chair. Duo still lay flat on the floor. The others had gone out into the world. Trowa mentioned that he was going to visit Heavyarms, Wufei was going to see Sally and Quatre had just plain left. He hadn't said -anything- during their talk but Heero was sure he absorbed all that had gone on and now took this time to allow it to soak in.  
"Heero..."  
Duo finally sat up. He stared disoriented at his friend of all these years. Heero stared back without reply.  
"Who sent those papers?"  
Heero moved to stand and walked over to the desk. He flipped through the pages at his desk and found the very first letter he had received from this person... this unknown ally of theirs. He smoothed it out and handed it down to Duo.  
Duo looked at it while Heero went through several other sheets of paper and pulled out two more, including one from the newest message.  
The last two were signed with a hash and two letters. "-YF"  
The first was signed out. "-Your Friend".  
  
  
*******************  
END PART I  
  
  
12.  
THE UNKNOWN ALLY  
Part II: Come To Find Out  
  
* Earth *   
  
"What? How could they… -what do you -MEAN- they got shot?"  
Akiera Tremma stared exasperated at the messenger.  
"Um… well…" there was no other way to explain otherwise.   
"They were… shot."  
The look on Akiera's face was death.  
"-Obviously-!" She screamed annoyed and turned away dismissing the   
younger woman.   
There was something wanting about the whole situation.  
-How could they be shot? They were both so qualified…  
After exiting the main deck she took a short cut to the Hall of   
Records. She was going to re-evaluate the records of Brin Warden and   
Alma Pitt. Perhaps they were -not- as qualified as they were thought   
to be.  
Minutes of searching revealed nothing. The files had been deleted   
from the base computer.  
-Uh oh… Her excellency is not going to like this at all… in  
fact, she thought, -I- am not going to like this at all…  
A moment later another soldier walked in.  
"Oh, excuse me, Sergeant… I didn't realize you were all ready  
here."  
Akiera stared curiously at him.  
"What do you mean?"  
The soldier could not identify with her look of puzzlement. "Aren't   
you looking for the files for Her Excellency? The new  
missionaries…"  
"Come again?"  
The young man pulled out a sheet of paper with two names on it.   
Akiera glanced at it, memorizing the names, and then averted her eyes   
to the computer.  
"Yes, I will deliver them myself," she replied.  
"Yes Ma'am."  
Akiera turned back to the computer.   
-Damn!   
Two more were going to be sent out and one of them was not her. She   
burned inside but did as she said and searched for the files.   
Minutes of scanning paid off when she was presented with two new   
records and printed both of them out.  
She studied the first page of them both, looking over them eagerly to   
see what they had that she did not. The first one impressed her   
highly and she could immediately see why -he- was chosen.  
"Major Sentiel Robert Bordman, age twenty-two… blah, blah,  
blah…-Oh!" She came across his training history causing her brow to arch with   
sheer surprise. "Well then… a student at Lake Victoria Academy  
under… Lieutenant Lucrezia Noin…" She smirked at the idea and  
read on about his battle with Oz and WASP, making a comment about him not being in the White Fang battle to herself. Displayed in front of her were his achievements, awards, and other such information that he incurred in his time as an elite soldier. All the information  
revealed a highly trained, exceedingly qualified warrior to accomplish the job he would be sent to do.  
"Name: Kya Reider, age…" she gasped. Upon further inspection she   
became more frantic about it not truly making it past the girls age.  
Moments later she stood behind the closed doors of her superiors   
office.  
"Her Excellency would like to know what this is about, Sergeant."  
Akiera stared blankly at the man who played the role of secretary.  
"I have word back from Brin and Alma."  
His gasp told her that she would soon be in trouble. He entered back   
into the room and then came back out again. Clearing his throat he   
reappeared stepping aside with an invitation for her to enter.  
As she stepped cautiously past him she caught only a hint of the  
words he spoke to her. It was a whisper, no more than a breath of   
air; that rang loud and clear in her ears. "Life sentence…" and  
he was gone.  
Her heart pounded in her chest, she could feel her blood racing as  
the woman in front of her turned slowly around in her chair. It was   
painful for Akiera to watch the chair swivel around in such slow   
motion.  
"So… you have come to report news of Warden and Pitt, have  
you…"  
"Y-Yes… Your Excellency…"  
The woman now stared point blank at the sergeant.   
"Ha! Did you honestly think that I wouldn't have known by -now- that   
both of them died… -Three and a half days ago-? And at the hands  
of those pilots, no less."  
-Uh oh…  
Akiera stepped backward as her superior rose from her desk.  
"What is this you've brought," she pointed at the stack of pages in   
the young girl's hand.  
"File… uh.. that is… Kya Reider's record, Ma'am."  
"And what -of- it," the woman demanded.  
"Well, Your Excellency… it states that… um…"  
"Spit -it -out, Tremma."  
Akiera formed the words in her mind but could not get them to escape   
her mouth. The woman stormed toward her. Frightened, she stumbled   
backward and fell to the floor.  
The woman stared disgusted at her and took the pages from her hand.   
She looked down at the page, scanning it and focussing in on the   
circled number.  
-What?  
"I want this one re-evaluated. There has to be a mistake."  
"There's no mistake, Highness… I checked it twice…"  
The woman threw the pages at the soldier on the floor. "Then -I-  
want it checked a -third and fourth- time! Don't question my  
orders!" she yelled.  
Akiera grabbed all the sheets that had been strewn all over the floor   
and quickly exited.  
Her Excellency stared out the window to a garden of Mobil suits.  
-Those pilots will regret that day to -their- deaths. "Starting with   
this one," she spoke aloud at her thought and looked down at a  
picture of her first victim.  
  
*~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~*  
  
* L3 Cluster *  
  
As the shuttle was being prepared for the CO, pages and pages were   
being sent for the Commander's viewing.  
"No," pause, "no," pause, "no," silence.  
The commander stared at file after file. Someone was going to be   
chosen to go to Repudiation. Their mission: to confirm the location   
of the Gundam Mobil Suits. He or she would be the bearer of the   
revealing of their "Friend".  
With a tiresome sigh, the Commander continued. "No," pause, "no,"   
pause, "no…"  
With a quick flick of the wrist the files lay scattered all over the   
desk.  
"Is there no one qualified, Commander?"  
A reluctant sigh gave the inquiring young woman the answer.  
There was only one who was qualified enough in the commander's eyes   
but would that one be willing to go?  
-More over, am I willing to send her away from my side?  
  
~~~  
  
"Anything, Commander."  
The young Special's soldier stood at attention to the Commander's   
words and orders. There was -nothing- that would keep her from   
complying with her Commanders given task.   
"Then your mission is to confirm the location of the Mobil suit   
Gundams. When you are found out- as I am sure you will be…" the   
Commander stared directly into the soldier's eyes. "You will notify   
me through Lieutenant Sierra. -YOU- are the messenger of   
-Peace-, do you understand, Cervantes?"  
"Yes, Commander."  
"You will -need- to convince them that you are there to assist them.   
It will be -your- job to announce my coming."  
The commander stared curiously at the junior officer.  
"-Do I make myself clear-?"  
The harshness in the voice made others jump in the room but not this   
one. Cervantes was unmoved.  
"Yes, Commander," her hand went up saluting the officer.  
"Dox- prepare Cervantes a shuttle."  
"Destination, Commander?"  
-Sigh. "Repudiation."  
Minutes before Cervantes' departure the CO stood in front of her and   
handed her a piece of paper.   
"When you are found out, give them this."  
Cervantes took the paper and put it inside her jacket. "Yes,   
Commander."  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
Trowa sat on the ground looking up at his machine. He'd been coming   
out to the hangar ever since the day that Duo's letter -and- the   
information about Deathscythe had arrived. Heavyarms stood tall and   
lifeless yet somehow managed to beam down at its owner.  
--"Trowa…"--  
He shook his head. Even on Repudiation Catherine would not leave him   
alone. Silence consumed the hangar, engulfing it. It was almost as   
though there had been created a vacuum. As he stared he could sense   
movement in the area. Something was disturbing his solitude. He   
waited; nothing. Slowly he rose and took a swift leap to one of the   
lower beams of the high ceiling. This allowed him visible access to   
the entire structure. Nothing moved but he could feel an   
overpowering, unfamiliar presence. -Someone- was there. Another scan   
of the grounds below revealed no one and suddenly the presence was   
gone. Seconds later, Heero walked in.  
"Trowa-," he called.  
Trowa jumped down, landing easily onto the cement, as Heero turned   
around. Duo walked in behind them looking up at the rafters.  
"What were you doin' up there, Trowa?"  
Heero looked around, he too had felt something upon entering.  
"Someone's here," Trowa said looking around.  
Duo immediately took hold of his gun. Heero picked up on Duo's   
understandable tension but calmed him quickly.  
"Relax, Duo," Trowa said. "Whoever it is won't be back for a little   
while."  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Lucrezia stared at her paperwork but could not concentrate. It had   
now been another week since she and Quatre spoke.  
"Captain Noin, there is a call on line two."  
Lucrezia acknowledged the corporal's announcement and flipped on her   
screen. In hopes that it would be him she set forth her best smile   
but was greatly disappointed.  
"Captain."  
Lucrezia saluted. "Colonel."  
He relieved her of the salute and sat back. "Lucrezia, I'm gonna be   
there in a couple of days -for business, and I need someone to escort   
me to the office of Commander in Chief Carter."  
Lucrezia sighed. Was he not aware of the regulations concerning   
fraternization? She -knew- that he did not "need" someone to escort   
him.  
-Escort you? Come on!  
"Sir, with all due respect… I recommend that you find someone  
else. I currently have orders to take care of other business."  
She could see his disappointment apparent in his eyes. When did  
their friendship take a turn? As far as she was concerned it hadn't.  
-Besides, you're the one who got me in trouble with Quatre.   
"Very well. Captain…" he saluted her and then signed off.  
-Man!  
She sat back in her chair feeling highly distressed.  
  
~~~~  
  
Quatre leaned against the rail guard phasing out the waters below.   
Another day had passed causing this to be yet another week in which  
he had not been back to see Lucrezia.  
"Quatre?"  
He came out of his self-battering mode and turned around to face the   
sound of the voice. It was not her.  
"Yeah?"  
Relena walked up to the rail and peered over the edge. There were no   
fish in the waters of Repudiation.  
"Does this place ever remind you of earth?"  
-WHAT?  
He faced her, perplexed at her question.  
"You sure know how to take one's mind off of things!"  
Relena smiled. "Hmmm." -Yes, I've been told. "Quatre… why did  
you leave the Winner Corporation?"  
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  
"You were -after all- the sole heir."  
"Because, Relena… I couldn't stay where I wasn't wanted."  
"Quatre-your family didn't reject you," she consoled sympathetically.  
"No," he said, "but I couldn't stay there- I couldn't do that to my   
family and I wouldn't do it to my friends."  
-Huh… sensible enough, she thought.  
"Quatre…"  
"Yes, Relena?"  
She put a decisive finger to her lip and thought briefly for a moment   
before she spoke.  
"If you had a friend-," she paused not looking at him, "that knew of   
your hurt and anger but chose to leave well enough alone- even though   
it was -far- from 'well enough'…" she could hear his growing   
suspicion. "What would you do?"  
Irritated and quite consumed with suspicion, he almost did not want  
to ask.  
"What are you getting at, Relena?"  
She turned around and pushed away from the rail.  
"Heero," she lied knowing full well that he knew exactly 'what she  
was getting at'. "He won't talk to me but -I- know that something is   
going on." This was not a lie.  
"Relena… sometimes…"  
-Why do they always start out with "sometimes"? This irritated her   
some but she kept quiet.  
"I don't know… I do know that you are -really bad- at parables,   
though!" He smiled at her and walked away. "Thanks," he called back   
over his shoulder.  
Relena watched him go. He walked away oblivious to her tears.  
"You're welcome," she returned. The waters invited her to look back   
at them. She did, letting her tears fill them just a little more.  
  
Quatre did not know what to say knowing that he would probably   
embarrass her. He let her think that her tears went unnoticed.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Wufei stared down the field at the hangar. His room overlooked the   
shelter for their Gundams. He could tell that something was awry.  
"Nataku…"  
He turned away from the window. He hadn't had a chance to see Sally   
the other day. He truly missed her.   
"Am I weak for missing her?"  
He walked out of the room down two flights of stairs and met Quatre  
at the door.  
"Where's Heero?"  
Wufei stared at the blond haired young man in front of him.  
"At the hangar."  
Quatre turned to face the walk and stared off into the direction of   
the hangar. Trowa had been going there far more often than he'd been   
sitting on the balcony. Now, instead of consuming the silence there,   
he went off to be in the presence of his Gundam.   
-Wouldn't that make matters worse for him?  
Seconds later; interrupting Quatre's thoughts and Wufei's  
distraction, the three that had been at the hangar now walked inside   
the house.  
"We've got a problem," Heero scowled. Duo and Trowa followed him to   
the kitchen, Quatre and Wufei, eyeing each other with concern,   
followed.  
  
"I'm telling you someone was -there-!"  
Duo sat in silence, Wufei leaned against the refrigerator, arms   
crossed in front of him. Quatre and Heero leaned on opposite sides  
of the breakfast bar regarding Trowa's behavior with great worry.  
Trowa paced back and forth trying to remember the feeling he had, the   
feeling of uneasiness and unfamiliarity. It was a sensation he had   
not felt in quite some time.  
"Did you actually -SEE- anyone, Trowa?" Wufei asked softly.  
"Not exactly. I sensed someone."  
Duo stood up abruptly. "-You- and your 'sensing'! What the hell is   
that?"  
"Duo, calm down," Heero interjected. "I felt something too."  
Duo sat back down. He wanted to cry but was not willing enough to do   
so in front of the others. So much was happening and so quickly.  
"Guys, it's been -days- since the letter… s…" Quatre  
remembered both of them, "came."  
"Yeah and we still haven't devised a counter attack," Duo called as  
he buried his face in the table.  
Heero moved around the bar and walked to the window. Quatre suddenly   
remembered Relena's tears as he watched his friend stare out at her   
house.  
"We need to set up a watch," Wufei suggested.  
"Why don't we move them--,"  
"To where, Quatre?"  
Quatre smacked his forehead in frustration. He wasn't - and hadn't   
been- thinking straight. That was about the dumbest idea he had had   
in quite some time. He knew this was true by Duo's remark and the   
others' glare at him as though he were some kind of moron.  
"We'll each take a watch," Wufei stated and left the group. He was   
really missing Sally.  
"I'll take the first watch," Quatre said.  
Duo sat up in his chair. "I'll join you-better yet," he stood up,   
checked his gun and walked out leaving Quatre, Heero and Trowa alone.  
"I saw Relena today," he said.   
Heero seemed unmoved by his statement. "And?" He poured some water   
into a cup and drank it down.  
Trowa was agitated. He didn't know what to do.  
"And-?" Heero half-heartedly demanded.  
Quatre kept quiet a moment longer, knowing that at any second Heero   
was going to blow some steam if he did not tell him.  
"Yeah… down by the water."  
Heero hesitated for only a moment before he decided that he didn't   
care what they thought. Quatre pulled something out of a drawer and   
stopped Heero with it. "You'll need these," he said handing him a   
package of tissues.  
Heero stared down at it, grabbing it from Quatre's hand, and walked   
off. He was struck with an immense amount of guilt. - He- was the   
reason she was crying.  
As he left, Trowa stood up and glanced above Quatre's head at the   
clock.  
"In another hour or so, she'll be off. Why don't you go pick her up?"  
Quatre's face reddened at Trowa's notion.  
"I'll go with Duo."  
  
~~~~  
  
Wufei had left the group to go to a small temple where he chose to   
meditate. He couldn't see Sally without making sure that he was at   
peace with himself and his spirit. His pride was jumping in   
continually and he did not want to make things worse for her or them.  
  
Heero made it half way to the sidewalk from their house before he   
decided that he needed to think about what he would say to her. He   
took a walk in the other direction trying to discern what it was he   
was feeling and how he would convey it.  
  
Quatre watched Trowa leave the kitchen and then heard Duo claim that   
he could go by himself, he didn't need Trowa. He laughed silently at   
the two as they argued their way out of the house.  
He didn't know if he could bring himself to see Lucrezia. He had  
been such a fool these past days and could never think of the right   
thing to say. Everytime he wanted to go, something came up and that   
something was usually his own thoughts of cowardice.  
-I can't go see her! She won't even look at me, much less talk to me!  
He thought of his conversation with Relena. The time was moving   
forward, she would be off soon… after pondering this thought he   
brought himself to the conclusion that he could not go see her.   
There was something amiss about the situation with their Gundams. He   
chose to go to the hangar instead.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
-Well… I haven't been caught yet! some mission -this- has been.  
It only took me four days and I have yet to be spotted! This is   
great.  
"Yeah, this is Cervantes- I have confirmation of location for the   
Mobil Suit Gundams. Do you copy-over?"  
The reply voice came through with a crackle and sputter.  
"…'oud…n…'lear…'ver…"   
She waited but received nothing back.   
"Do you copy, over?"  
"…(static)… 'at…ur... xt… ve…. 'ver?"  
-Damn! "Base… I'm not reading you, over."  
There came more static and then the transmitter went dead.  
There could only have been one thing that was blocking the   
transmission from the base on L3. Looking up at the heavy machinery,   
she knew what it was. Five Gundams, all of them peering down at her;   
the intruder.  
  
~~~~  
  
Trowa pulled his gun slowly, motioning for Duo to go around the other   
side. He placed his finger to his lips for silence and circled around   
the back of a barrier.   
Duo did the same on the other side, circling a barricaded unit and   
peered out on the other side. He could see Trowa now on top of the   
cement barrier that he chose and peered down at the soldier.  
Cervantes was certain that they wouldn't come around but knew that   
they had sensed something and so they'd probably be back sooner than   
later.  
-I have to get out of here before they do come back.  
*click*  
Cervantes could not move. A gun was resting at the nape of her neck.   
-Boy are you gonna be angry when you find out that I'm a girl, she   
thought.  
Duo walked around with his gun pointed directly at her head. He   
stared at the perpetrator and looked at Trowa for further instruction.  
--"messenger of -Peace-," she remembered.- -  
No one spoke. Trowa pulled off the hat covering the intruder's head.   
It was as he suspected.  
"Are you armed?"  
Duo stared disbelieving at the girl in front of him.   
-Why would a girl infiltrate our hangar?  
"I come as a messenger of peace."  
Trowa stared around her at Duo. Duo walked forward and frisked her   
for any weapon but found none. He reached into her jacket and pulled   
out the sheet of paper that was neatly folded and tucked away in its   
hiding place. It was marked to "Mr. Heero Yuy".  
At that moment, they were joined by the other three. All three had   
guns pulled so that now this young -female- soldier had five guns   
pointed directly at her head and chest. Duo handed the paper to  
Heero never turning his eyes away from hers. Heero then handed it to   
Wufei after looking at the name. It was a hope to throw her off.  
"She claims to be a messenger of peace."  
Heero heard Trowa's words and acknowledged it. Wufei opened the   
letter and scanned it briefly before handing it back to Heero. He  
took it and carefully unfolded it.  
"Mr. Yuy," it read, "if you are reading these words then you have   
caught my messenger. She has a message for you, I suggest you drop   
your weapons and listen to what she has to say." He looked up at the   
girl and down at the paper again. "-YF."  
Heero dropped his weapon and told the others to follow.  
"But she broke in…" Duo argued.  
"Drop it, Duo."  
All but one of the guns went down at Heero's use of Duo's name. If  
it had been someone or something else he would have never said his   
name out loud.  
"Leave us alone," he spoke in an emotionless tone.  
"But…"  
Heero turned toward Quatre. His scowl sent chills through the young   
man's body. Heero then turned to the others with the same eyes of   
intimidation and returned his fixation on the girl. She stood   
perfectly motionless, not even breathing it seemed, as Trowa's gun  
was still at her head.  
"Trowa… drop your gun."  
-Trowa… do as your told and you won't get hurt, she thought. Her  
urge was to turn around and let him have a piece of her that he  
would not forget but the Commander's words echoed in her mind.   
"Peace".  
With reluctance he pulled his gun away and then took a step back.   
She immediately turned around to view the eyes of the person she  
never heard approach her and place his gun at her head.  
Green eyes that stared down into her very soul stared back at the   
hazel color of hers. She watched as he turned away and looked at   
Heero. When he finally walked away he looked at Quatre.  
"Didn't I tell you to go pick her up?"  
Quatre flushed as the four left the building, doing as Heero had   
asked.  
Duo took one look back at him and the girl. He knew that she - or   
someone that she was in representation of- was the "Friend."  
  
******************  
  
End Part II  
  
*Author's Note: I am not sure if I want to end this 'chapter' like   
this. I may subtitle the next part under "The Unknown Ally" but I am   
not sure… so give me a moment and you will see what I have  
done!!  
  
  
13.  
WARNING: There is not an -explicit- scene... but I guess it's called a lime/lemon scene? Well.. it does not go into full detail but I felt the need to place a warning anyway...ok!!:)  
THE SIGN OF TROUBLE  
  
  
Trowa sat in the hummer silently waiting Quatre's return. He had grown weary of Quatre's ever growing grief of regret and decided that he was going to take matters into his own hands. For that reason, he drove Quatre to the base himself and made him get out and go see Lucrezia.  
As he waited, the episode at the hangar replayed in his mind. He and Duo's spotting the girl, Heero's words, the girl's words, Duo's acusation of her breaking in, the girl's reply, all of them with their guns at her, the girl... the girl. The girl.  
He stared at the door of the unit Quatre walked into but did not see it. All he saw were her eyes. The hazel eyes that were quite mysterious and rather intriguing- if he thought to say for himself.  
--"I come as a messenger of Peace."--  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Heero circled the girl. Regardless of the words of the letter, he was still highly suspicious of her.   
She stood at attention before this man whom her Commander greatly respected.  
--"But why -him-, Commander? Why this... Heero Yuy?"  
"Because he was the first of them and he has earned my undying respect. Since the beginning with Oz, During White Fang and his battle with the WASP, he has proved to be the Perfect Soldier. He is a soldier much like yourself- highly motivated to do nothing less than the maximum his job requires. He is dedicated to completing every given mission and has done nothing to show otherwise.  
"Why -him- you ask? Because he is honorable, noteworty and a very respectable young man. -Him- because of his undying love for Miss Relena Peacecraft. A love so great that instead of fighting her orders to send them and all other soldiers of war off the earth, he complied.  
"He deserves nothing but my highest respect and one day when you meet him, he will deserve nothing less than yours and I should expect that you would honor this request even if you hold only what -I- say to any amount of regard."--  
Cervantes remembered the words clearly and could see truly that he was worthy of nothing but the highest respect. It would have been easier to talk back to her Commander than to not give this man the respect he deserved. It was a lesson she learned the hard way.  
"Who are you and who do you represent?"  
Heero's eyes narowed at her. He could see that she was not an ordinary soldier. Perhaps an understudy to someone as Seita was to Lucrezia. But unlike this young woman before him, Seita had trained some at an academy. This girl did not appear to have such military training. It was rather an odd thought. It was apparent that she had some military background but as far as the training went? She had a personal trainer.  
-No... not your average soldier.  
"Ah, but Sir... Before I give that I am under authorization to inform my Commander of my being captured."  
His eyes were cold on her. They dug a hole into the very deepest part of her being. Even though she could feel a hostile rage building in him, she chose to stand her ground.  
"Fair enough. Your name first, then."  
"My call," she replied.  
She made a swift move but was soon stilled by his menacing grip.  
--"Peace"--  
"You have penetrated our hangar with interest of whatever it is you wish to find. I think we deserve to know your -name-."  
--"Highest respect"--  
Heero let her go and stared at her with gripping coldness.  
"Your -Name-," he demanded.  
She met his glare and matched it with exceeding defiance.  
"By what right do -you- keep me from my orders?"  
Heero held up the piece of paper. He opened it and read it to her.   
"She has a message for you. I suggest you... listen to what she has to say."  
-These- were not her orders! Her orders were to inform the Commander through Lieutenant Sierra and then prepare the announcement of her CO's arrival. For some reason she chose to block out the rest of her orders... "You will -need- to convince them that you are there to assist them."  
"Your -NAME-" he demanded once more.  
"My -CALL- Sir."  
She was failing miserably and felt certain that the CO would hear about it. This would not be a good thing.  
Heero grabbed her by the arm and pushed her out of the bay and into the field.  
"Sir..." her voice became shaky. She knew she had done wrong. "Mr. Yuy..."  
Heero stopped and looked at her. "Where is the rest of your gear?"  
She nodded toward a giant unit used for storing tools and other uses of mechanincs. Her single piece of gear -a small back pack- had been stashed into a compartment of the massive box. Behind a number of encased tools, Heero found what she had hidden. He pulled it out in her presence and dumped its belongings onto the ground. Nothing of consequence caught his eye so he left her there to pick it up.   
Moments later she caught up with him.  
"Mr. Yuy... please... I have acted with much disrespect toward you but it is my -duty- Sir, to obey my commands!"  
Heero did not turn around. Her determination to settle the wrong was impressive but if she was such an obedient subordinate, her actions would have been different.  
"I... Sir..."  
He stooped dead in his tracks and brought himself to look at her.  
"You are too late. Should have thought about that before you decided to disobey -my- commands. You are on my land now and -you- are overpowered here. Right now, your   
'Commander' -has- no power here."  
He turned away and continued his way back to the house. He could feel her close behind and could sense her struggling with herself concerning her behavior.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
"Your Excellency... I have the file back on Kya Reider and I -assure- you... There is -No- mistake."  
Her Excellency stared at the men outside who climbed all over the mobil suits, cleaning and inspecting them.  
"Bring her to me."  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
-So they want to send another child, do they? We'll just see about that.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Commander, we are reaching earth's atmosphere and have also received word that Cervantes has lost communication."  
The CO stared at the earth and reflected back on the previous four days. A stop on L4 gave them a brief meeting with the Widow Marinova and an even briefer still with General Gardina.  
--"Send word to Carter that I will once again be by his side."  
"Yes, Commander."--  
A two day stay on L1 refreshed them for their mission, refueled them for safety and sent them on their way. The journey's movement so far brought them to this point in time.  
"Commander, what should we do?"  
"She will contact me when she figures out that the Gundams are blocking her transmission."  
"Commander... do you think she's been captured?"  
The view of the earth was breathtaking.  
"I'm most certain of it. The appropriate question, however, is -not- if she has been captured, but more... is she doing what I have commanded and treating them with respect?"  
Dox observed his commander, eager to understand. The word's spoken were more of a declaration than an interrogotory statement.  
"But Commander... why should -she- treat -them- with respect if they have her captive?"  
The Commander faced Dox with a look of high disregard. "Because those were my -orders-, Sergeant Major."  
"Y- Yes... Commander..."  
-Soon enough, Gentleman... sigh... soon enough.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Lucrezia and Quatre had been stnding in front of the hummer for some time. Trowa observed them carefully, listening to their words.  
  
"Lucrezia... I -wanted- to see you but I didn't think you would see me..."  
"Quatre... you are the one who walked away, -not- me! Why wouldn't I have seen you?"  
Quatre sighed as he stared at the ground. "Because I'm a fool."  
Lucrezia smiled. "Quatre Reberba Winner... that is about the -wisest- thing you have said to me throughout this entire thing!"  
Quatre's blue eyes sparkled, Lucrezia's glimmered with tears and laughter. Trowa found himself pictureing the Winner children- blond hair and blue eyes. He laughed to himself.  
"We have to get back," Trowa announced.  
"Join us?" Quatre stared lovingly into Lucrezia's eyes.  
"Honored."  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Kya Reider stood before Her Excellency as requested. As others had been intimidated by the woman, she was not. She gathered that the others were frightened enough -for- her.  
"Who gave you orders, Soldier?"  
"-You- did, Highness."  
Kya's tone was hard and highly disciplined yet in the same manner, rather recalcitrant.  
"-I-? Not to mention that Warden was not much older, but do you think it would by -my- order to send a fifteen year old -child- to do a job that even a -twenty- year old could not complete?"  
"Excuse me, Highness, but I dare say that Warden and Pitt lost concentration and sight of their mission. Had you sent me in the first place I would have been back by now with all -six- of their heads!"  
"Six, you say?"  
"Yes, Your Excellency. Do you think I would stop shy of taking the head of Relena Peacecraft?"  
-Indeed, I do not! "Reider... what is this fancy you have with these men and Miss Peacecraft?"  
"I have no such thing, Highness." Kya was irritated. "Now forgive me, but... are you going to let me go or not?"  
The audacity of this child was great. And due to it's intensity, Her Excellency stepped up and slapped her in an effort to lessen the degree of arrogance the young woman imposed.  
"You will hold your tongue in my presence, Young Woman. -And- you will show -respect- to my authority."  
The girl was burning with anger at the words of this older woman... this authority.   
"-My- family DIED because of them, Your Highness- and if I have to go on my own..." she took a deep breath, "- SO BE IT-!"  
Kya stood her ground, not retreating, not surendering; only glaring at this woman who declared herself "Excellent" above all. Excellent above the rights of peace, above the rights of the law-- above -all- other military power. Excellent by the right given her by one man.  
It was this woman, Her Excellency, that was going to bring war back to the nations of the world and colonies. Kya wanted to bring war to Repudiation and deprive the small rock of its most prized possession. Unknown to her was that the same desire was hled by Her Excellency   
-and- the man who put her there.  
"Dis- miss," Her Excellency insisted harshly.  
Kya left the room in muffled silence. Her Excellency was distressed over the matter. It was time to call in the troops. Time now had come to call upon the one who gave her this title and position.  
-This is a most unexpected turn around, I must say. -Most- unexpected.  
  
14.  
THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS:   
SO MUCH TO UNDERSTAND  
  
Two days came and went. Heero made no inquiry of the girl, nor did she of him. The others left her alone at Heero's request allowing for the maids to look after her. She hadn't been presented to any of the ladies as of yet but they were aware of her presence.  
  
"I don't like it one bit and there's no rule in the books that says I have to!"  
Lucrezia and Sally laughed at Relena's unsophisticated behavior.  
"Relena... they don't even know her -name-! She's only there because her Superior sent a message with her saying she was someone of peace." Lucrezia replied to her statement of objection.  
"And besides... from what Wufei tells me..." Sally gave a mischievous grin.  
"What!" Lucrezia chided excitedly.  
"It would appear that -she- has Quite the inclination to carry a desire for a certain -green-eyed- boy!" Sally arched her eyebrows revealing her mystery.  
"Trowa?" Relena exclaimed.  
Lucrezia was flabbergasted. -Trowa? "Well does he hold her in the same regard?"  
Sally shrugged at Lucrezia's interrogation. "Wufei says he can't -stand- her!"  
They all giggled at their little trail of gossip. It was somewhat of a cute thought to imagine Trowa finally having someone. But it was not a lasting thought.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
Cervantes sat down at her window. Heero and the others were kind to her.   
-If you can call ignoring me for two days kind, she thought. But they -did- let me stay here... and they haven't been... -un-kind to me...  
Excepting her phone call, they had given her all that she desired. Space and a female -or two- companion. It had been two days since her capture. She had yet to inform her Commander. When she -did- notify Lieutenant Sierra, she knew things were not going to go over well at all.  
The towel she used in drying her hair was soft. It reminded her of home. Home where she was under her Commander's lead and only had those orders to complete. It was hard being here in this gargantuan house. All the stairs and rooms and four floors and everything else- not to mention the fact that the two female maids came from one of their women's house because  
-this- was a place for men! She missed the comfort of her CO's care.  
Her thoughts dissipated at the sound of a knock on her door. Immediately she stood up to greet her visitor. The door opened halfway without revealing the occupant standing there.  
"Your presence is requested down stairs."  
The door closed leaving her staring bewildered at it. Trowa was always so distant to her. There was something that she could not pinpoint but was sure that it was as unfamiliar to her about him as it was to him about her. As far as his presentation toward her went, she contended that he was greatly lacking in the area of congeniality.  
-Why thank you, Mr. Antisocial... Moth!  
  
Only minutes had passed before she found herself standing on the first floor. She stood quietly waiting. Seconds passed... minutes... long minutes...  
"Ahem..."  
She turned around and looked up. Duo was standing at the top of the stairs. His stance demonstrated that she needed to be up there instead of where she stood. Hot cheeked and red faced she ascended the stairs and stepped past an annoyed Mr. Duo- as she had called him out of respect. The only one she called by name -without- a title was Trowa. Without hesitation she averted her eyes to anywhere but his.  
Duo directed her into the study where the others awaited her arrival.  
"Trowa," Duo snapped in reference to his directions to her.  
"Humph. It's not my fault of she hasn't a clue," he replied snidely.  
"Enough," Heero spoke as a warning.   
Cervantes stared at Heero sitting behind his desk. He moved the phone toward her.  
"Make your call."  
She moved to do so but stopped shy.  
"I can't."  
Both Heero -and- Duo became further agitated with her. Wufei made his usual derogatory statement about females in the military and Quatre merely sighed; he too was becoming irritated with her.  
"Why not," Heero questioned.  
"Perhaps she doesn't feel presentable," Trowa sneered peering at her freshly braided, still wet hair.  
"Trowa--"  
Trowa stared at Heero and then placed his eyes on her. Her auburn hair was braided down to the small of her back. A French braid that held tightly enough to let even the shorter strands stay in place. It was almost as long as Duo's but shy of about half a foot. Her eyes were beautifully unwelcoming, he thought. The color was intense but the emotion hiding behind them was that of pure frigidness. He turned away.  
"Why -not-" Heero inquired again.  
"Because, Sir. I have failed to give you my name."  
Heero folded his hands in front of him. It was hard, but he tried exceedingly anyway to not become incoherent with a grievous anger. He sighed. "Your -name- then."  
Duo smacked his tongue in frustration. "Oh brother," he said. A sharp glance from Heero bottled the rest of his comment.   
"My name is Karizma Delanie Cervantes and I come as a messenger of peace from my Commanding officer from within the L3 Colony Cluster."  
-Charisma, thought Trowa. -How fitting a name for someone so... -uninspiring-.  
"Your call... Karizma Delanie Cervantes of the L3 Colony Cluster. -NOW-!" Heero pressed her.  
He was far more intimidating than her CO was. Unlike the Commander -whom she respected to a great degree- this Mr. Heero Yuy made her jump.  
With deft fingers, she moved quickly in making the call to the Lieutenant. When he came on line the picture was a little fuzzy. When he began in on her, she wished his voice was fuzzy also.  
"Cervantes... where have you been?"  
Karizma looked at Heero and then back to the screen her eyes went. She was almost reluctant to say as the man had displayed obvious anger.  
"Detained, Lieutenant."  
"Very well. You have orders now to report to Commander in Chief Drake Carter." His eyes were cold on her and his tone was harsh.  
She had almost begun to wish that she had asked for a private call. With -this- news, there was no keeping anything silent.  
Heero and Trowa were the only ones unmoved by this man's announcement. Even Karizma seemed nervous, Heero noted.  
"B- But.. Sir... I have..."  
"-You- will do as you are -told-, Cervantes! And -He- is expecting you... so lets not keep him waiting, shall we?"  
"Yes, Sir, Lieutenant."  
When the screen went blank, Heero turned if off and sat back in his chair rubbing his chin.  
"Quatre," he stared Karizma into a seated position. "Can you manage to bring Captain Noin here? It seems we have some business for her to assist us with."  
Quatre rose form his chair and left the room. Soon after, Wufei followed as did Trowa. Duo and Heero stared at each other for a moment, both contemplating what they should do with her in the meantime.  
Karizma suddenly found her finger nails enticingly interesting. She rubbed the smoothness and lined the edges carefully. She imagined having long fingernails and decided that it would add to the loveliness of her hands.  
-Conceited indeed, she thought and looked up as she realized two pairs of eyes on her.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
"Commander... Lt. Sierra is on the line."  
The commander stared out the window of the hotel room. They'd been on earth for two days making plans to confront this nemesis to the Gundam pilots.  
"Thank you, Dox. Leave me if you would."  
Dox did just that without further delay.  
"Yes, Lieutenant?"  
"Cervantes called, Commander."  
"I see. And did you give her my orders?"  
"Yes."  
"Very well then. Forward this message on to Commander in Chief, Drake Carter." The man on the screen stood ready to take down the message. "In exactly three days, twelve hours and forty-one minutes, I will be needing his assistance in protecting those five young men.  
"Now, Lieutenant... this assistance -does- require -all- of you," in referrence to those on the base there near L3. "And, keep in mind that those pilots will -Not- stand aside and let you fight for them."  
"Commander, I don't..."  
"-Expect- them, Lieutenant. Expect them to defend themselves, whatever the cost," was the reply.  
"What about... Miss Peacecraft, Commander?"  
A look away from the computer delivered the words. "Do what you can but -remember-," the commander stressed, "She is -their- mission. Mr. Yuy will do his job in keeping up with his protection of her, -you- make sure your job is done in protecting -him- and the others."  
"Yes, Commander."  
-What a way to give thanks.  
A picture of the five young pilots had been fixed onto a date of the calendar. The attack was  
-made- to be at exactly twelve noon on Thanksgiving Day. It did not give them, or the Gundam pilots, or any of their other allies a great deal of time but ever since peace was being destroyed, everyone was training for this day yet to come.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
"Where is she?"  
"She's gone, Highness. And so is Tremma."  
-Damn! Her Excellency slammed her fist on the table causing the pens and other objects there upon it to jump and rattle.  
"Your Excellency..." the man stammered for words. He stared in awe and fear of the other officer who was now standing in the room.  
"-What-?" she demanded of her secretary.  
"Leave us, please."  
The soldier did so immediately, not wanting to be in the middle of his reprimanding ceremony. Upon the departure of the man, the officer walked up to the young woman and held her face in his hands.  
"Sir," she called.  
He tilted his head in a less than formal manner. "Come now. We have been through too much to be so proper and formal, have we not?"  
He sighed and stepped away to the window. "You called and I am here. Are things still set as planned?"  
She sighed. "Reider is gone and I have yet to send Bordman."  
"Ah yes..." he replied. "Reider... the child. Was not Warden but a year or so her senior?" He brushed off the question and sighed of great relief. "Take no worry. Worse comes to worse, our little battle begins earlier than planned- which is not entirely a bad thing. As for Bordman... I took liberty of sending him myself. I think -Captain- Noin should be delighted to see him."  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
At the end of the day, Quatre and Lucrezia sat in silence, observing Seita as she embarked on her test of fencing with one of the more experienced in Lucrezia's command. She'd become quite the valiant with a sword- as had Relena, Lucrezia pointed out.  
"But only since Heero finally gave his 'blessing'," Quatre laughed.  
It had only been a few days, but he gave her the "ok" to train with Wufei so long as she kept it to swordplay and not gunplay. Relena had protested that she could handle a gun rather well but lost her wits when -in a mock situation- Heero relieved her of it before she even realized what was happening.  
  
Heero stood in the doorway of Relena's study. The room was quiet and dark. Relena had yet to return from wherever she was. He decided to walk down the hall to her room and wait there. To his surprise, and concern- rather, annoyance with the servants who had not noticed her return; she lay sleeping on her bed. She was lying across the comforter as though she had just plopped herself down and went right to sleep. The soft glow of her desk lamp gave off just enough light for him to gaze at her beauty.  
He took quiet steps to her side and looked down. She'd been writing. As quietly as he could, he picked up the sheets of paper, board and pen and placed them on the desk. In so doing, he caught a glimpse of the words she wrote. "I love you, Heero Yuy."  
A quick click of the lamp left him standing in the darkness of the fading light outside. He watched Relena move into a different position and then he took a blanket and covered her with it. After a moment of consideration, he took off his shoes, belt and watch and crawled underneath the blanket beside her. With great ease, he took her into his arms and closed his eyes, feeling her snuggle up to him as though she knew he were there and had been waiting for it.  
  
Sally sat on her bed needing to cry but could not. Wufei squatted in front of her with his hands on her knees.   
"Don't you know that I am doing this because I -have- to and not because I -want- to? I mean... yes, I want you to be safe but if this is the only way... I have to do it!"  
Wufei tried to look into her eyes but she wouldn't allow it. At his every attempt, she either closed her eyes or looked away.  
"Sal?"  
"I don't understand," her voice wavered.  
Wufei stood up. He was frustrated about everything. The upcoming battle that he -knew was inevitable, Sally's pain, as well as his own clouded his concentration.  
"I don't know how to help you, Sally."  
"Then go," she finally said and stood up.  
"Sally..." he protested her command.  
"No, Wufei. Just go."  
He walked over to her where she stood in font of the window.  
"Sal," he spoke as he grabbed her by the shoulders.  
Her heart palpitated in her chest as he touched her. She tried to resist his drawing her near but could not. He wrapped her in his arms and held her close.  
"Sally... I--"  
"No, Wufei. Don't tell me because you are going to leave me and I can't take the thought of losing you."  
He sighed. It wasn't that he was going to leave her or that she was going to lose him. It was that he needed to concentrate and the only way he knew how to do that was to leave her side. He would return when the time was right... he had to.  
"Then I'll show you," he said and turned her around to face him.   
Before she could answer or give any refusal, he kissed her fully on the lips. He pulled her closer still and then lifted her off her feet with gentle strength and carried her to the bed where he laid her down.  
"Wufei..."  
He gazed into her soft eyes, silencing her words. He leaned down and kissed her once, and then twice. A third time still and then she pulled him down to her and kissed him back. After only seconds of hesitation, all her former inhibited desires unloaded themselves into her hands. She immediately removed his shirt and watched as his bare chest came into view. She rubbed his soft, perfect skin and leaned up to kiss his chest and neck. He allowed her to flip him over and straddle him. He reached up ready to help her out of hers but she stopped him.  
"Why are we doing this?"  
He looked up at her with love in his eyes. She moved to lie down beside him. He leaned up on his elbow and looked at her. She watched as his finger traced the neck of her shirt.  
"Because I love you and I don't know how else to show you other than by walking away."  
She turned her head to look at him. Wufei pushed her hair aside.  
"I love you, Chang Wufei. And I don't want you to do this because you feel obligated to somehow 'show me' that you love me."  
Wufei rubbed the side of her face and then rested his palm on her cheek, letting her feel the heat that radiated from him.  
"Do you think I feel obligated to make love to you, or do you think I just want to bed you to ease my own mind?"  
She knew these were not fighting words and he was truly sincere. his eyes were incapable of lying or even hiding emotion.  
"I think that there is nothing you want more than for me to know how much you love me."  
"And you are right." He grabbed her hand and held it gently. "But please don't think that I think having sex with you is the only way I think -or- the only thing I want from you."  
She smiled teasingly at him. "And why not?"  
He took her into his arms and held her tight. Gently and passionately, he kissed her once again.  
  
Trowa sat on the balcony staring out into the rising darkness. Duo lay back on the chair staring at the stars. He reveled at the fact that for once Trowa didn't go off to be near his Gundam.  
"What're you thinking about, Trowa?"  
"Nothing."  
Duo laughed. "Too quick an answer, my man."  
Trowa glared at him over his shoulder and then turned back around.  
"What business do you think Cervantes... Kari---zma, had with Carter?"  
Trowa tensed at the sound of her name. Duo's usage of dragging it out caused him to shutter. It was like hearing fingernails on a chalkboard.  
"When it concerns me, I'm sure I will find out."  
Duo held his thought. He could clearly understand that Trowa did not care for the girl.  
-Yeah, right!  
"Have you had any more nightmares, Duo?"  
-Come to think of it... "Now that you mention it... I'm having -one- recurring dream."  
Trowa stared off into the distance. "Is it about Hilde?"  
There was a painful thought.  
"No... not exactly. I mean... she's in it but..." he paused trying to figure out how to articulate his words. "Trowa..." he couldn't think of the right words to say.  
Trowa sat silently, patiently waiting for Duo's words.  
"I know this is going to sound -really- stupid... but I keep dreaming about Dorothy. Ever since that first letter came... there's something that keeps lingering." He looked over at Trowa.  
"Like what," Trowa asked still not facing Duo.  
-Like what? Hmmm... "Like the look on her face when Quatre took her away."  
"Do you still blame yourself for that?"  
Trowa finally turned to look at his friend. It had been too long for this to come up now.  
"Sometimes... I think that if I hadn't have said anything to Quatre, she would still be alive... maybe still at Concord but still alive."  
"And you blame yourself for Hilde, too... don't you?"  
Duo could sense Trowa's disapproval at his feelings.  
"No... she did that on her own. I sometimes feel responsible for Dorothy but I know that it was for the best..."  
"Anyway, Duo... it was Quatre who made the decision to take her. You should not beat yourself up over it... it's been way too long to feel guilty about it now."  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway... I keep hearing this voice that calls my name saying 'Don't leave me' and sometimes I see a snake..." he shuttered, " or I can feel a gun at my head. But there is something new. Every time I hear Heero's voice remind me of how mortal I am, I see the words 'Kill remaining Gundam pilots'."  
Trowa looked away momentarily and then turned back to Duo. That -was- kind of strange.  
"I've only had one thought on that," Duo continued, "what does 'remaining' mean?"  
It was an excellent question. None of them were able to decipher the meaning.  
  
  
15.  
WARNING: Again, there is not an -explicit- scene... it does not go into full detail but I felt the need to place a warning anyway...ok!!:)  
  
A MATTER OF TIME  
The Continuance of the Clock  
  
Heero woke with a jump. Some time in the night he had lost his shirt and ended up under the covers. Relena lay beside him, still sleeping only she was now in her nightgown. Had he missed something in his moment of sleep?  
-How could I miss something like that?  
He stared down at her. She was beautiful. There was no way in all of Hell that he would have forgotten that he had made love to her. It was a moment that he was working up to slowly.  
The time on his watch read four thirty-eight. He needed to get back to his place and start going through information he received from Cervantes and looking over the letters he -and- Duo received to see if there was something he was missing. Somehow, all that information seemed meaningless at this moment. He was reluctant to leave her side.  
"Sweetness... I love you," he whispered softly.  
He sat on the edge of the bed and strapped on his watch. As he latched it closed, he felt a soft warm touch on his back. It was enough to make him shiver.  
"Are you leaving, Heero?"  
Her voice enticed him to look at her. The glow of her skin and sparkle in her eyes called to him, inviting him to her.  
"Yes, Love."  
She smiled playfully.  
"But, Heero," she giggled, "you're supposed to sneak out -after- we have sex!"  
His face became bright red that she could even see it in the half-light of morning. It was so intense that she wished she could recall her words and make it so she had said nothing.  
"Heero... I..."  
He put his finger on her lips and then bent down and kissed her.  
"One day," he said as he pulled away. "But not today."  
She smiled at his respect for her. He was truly honorable.  
"I love you," she whispered.  
"And I love you... Relena Peacecraft."  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Karizma had found her way back to the pilots' home late in the evening. Her meeting with Carter had left her feeling drained and depressed. She had knocked on the door for almost ten minutes before Weidam finally opened it.  
Now she was waking up in the semi-warmth of this house made a home by five bachelors. It was not a comforting feeling. She would much rather have been in the home of Drake and Ellen Carter but the pilots were -her- mission.  
After a half-hour of stretching exercises, she found herself in the kitchen looking in the refrigerator. She decided that a cup of milk would suit her just fine.  
Quatre entered the kitchen, eyeing her thoughtfully, but hesitantly, before pouring himself a glass of his own. Neither said anything, though he was sure she was itching to and she was certain that he didn't want to engage in conversation.  
  
Trowa stood in the doorway of Duo's room. Duo had been up half the night and now sat at his desk scribbling something onto a sheet of paper.  
"What are you doing?"  
Duo ignored Trowa's persistent bombarding of questions and continued to write.  
"Duo... you have been up half the night... Scribbling... I could hear you down in -My- room!  
-What- are you doing?"  
Duo finally looked up. His face was clear and calm as Trowa's was smothered with annoyance.  
  
Heero walked in to the kitchen, eyeing both the occupants inside. They felt relief upon his entrance but quickly lost it at his somewhat sardonic gaze. As he grabbed whatever he was after, the tension resumed upon his leaving. The silence manipulated the two young people once again.  
Finally Karizma decided it would be best if she departed back to her room. She topped off her cup of milk and headed for the odor.  
  
Trowa, finally exhausting himself at questioning Duo, made his way down the stairs. He stopped briefly to inform Heero that Duo was in serious need of a shaking and headed for the kitchen.  
  
Karizma took a small glance at Quatre as she opened the door and ran directly into Trowa, spilling her milk all over his clothing.  
Quatre did all he could to keep from lauging. Duo had just come out of his room and made it to the second floor where Heero stood. Both looked down at the commotion at the kitchen door. Weidam, Blake and the other servants came out of hiding to view also.  
"Why don't you watch where you're going," Trowa yelled.  
"Well put a window in the door and -next- time I'll see you coming," she returned with a fury.  
"Go away," he grumbled as he removed his shirt. When he turned around he saw the others up stairs -and- the servants gaping at him. "What" he yelled, throwing his shirt at Weidam.   
Duo looked at Heero and smiled.  
"Well... looks like he needs more of a shaking than I do," he said cheerfully and finished his way to the first floor.   
Heero stared somewhat bothered as he watched them.  
Trowa brushed past him and took the stairs two at a time all the way to the third floor before disappearing into his room. Duo stepped far aside from Karizma as she had a fresh cup of milk in her hands.  
She handed him a dirty look and fled back to her room. Heero watched as she ignored his glare at her.  
"-What-?" She yelled at him and began taking the steps to the third floor.  
Heero stared at her with indifferent eyes and said nothing.  
"Ugh!" She stormed up the stairs, mumbling to herself and headed down the hall to her room. "Stupid men have no sense... staring at me..." she rambled on just as Trowa exited his room, clad now with a fresh pair of jeans and a clean shirt. He watched her, waiting for her to pass. "Show respect... I'll show them respect..." she took note of Trowa's eyes on her. "Is there a   
-problem-?" she yelled at him.  
Trowa almost flinched at her but suddenly became very cool. "You know... there are doctors to help with the voices in your head."  
Quite composed and sure of himself, he stepped past her and headed for the stairs.  
"Ugh!"  
In her room she kneeled in front of the bed and cried.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Six Forty-Five a.m.  
  
Wufei opened his eyes. He lay alone in Sally's bed. Preoccupied with the events of the night, he didn't notice her come in.  
"Tea, Love?"  
He sat up and stared at her, charmed by her beauty.  
"Thank you."  
He took the cup she offered and watched as she sat down. With a swift tug he pulled her near and kissed her gently. She smiled and laid down on the bed, resting her head in his lap. The touch of his hand on her hair was soothing but not enough to keep the tears from falling.  
"Do you regret last night?" He stroked her hair gently, drinking from his cup as he waited for her reply. She shook her head. It was not her desire for him to see her crying.  
"You?" she asked quietly.  
"Not at all," he replied. It was not -his- desire for her to see him feeling so weak. "So why are you crying?"  
She sat up immediately and stared into his dark eyes.  
"I..." she wiped her tears and turned away.  
Wufei put his cup down and reached for her. In an effortless move, she was now leaning against his chest flooding with tears.  
"Sally?"  
-Why are women so weak? The one thing I cannot do is help her to stop crying!  
"Chang..." He melted at the sound of her voice. "I love you." She looked up at him with a tear-streaked face. "I love you."  
He stared at her not knowing what action to take. He could feel tears in his own eyes.  
"Marry me, Sally Po."  
They were both taken aback by the words but he remained firm in his gaze at her.  
"Why Wufei... where'd -that- come from?"  
He took her hand and kissed it. Looking deep into her eyes, he placed her hand on his chest over his heart.  
"Here."  
She leaned up and kissed him softly on his cheek. "I love you," she said as she placed a hand on the side of his face. She kissed his forehead. "I love you," she looked into his eyes and kissed the tip of his nose.  
Wufei closed his eyes and placed his hand on hers. He felt her move back as she straddled him. His eyes opened and he stared into hers.   
"I love you," she whispered before kissing his lips with great tenderness, gently pulling him closer to her. Her lips on his sent him writhing in sweet agony. "I love you," she breathed again, "and I want to."  
He opened his eyes and pushed her away ever so slightly.  
"Marry me."  
Their eyes met and locked. He held her in that position until she replied.   
"Yes, Wufei! I want nothing more... I will marry you!" Her answer came through an array of tears and a smile.  
With her words he pulled her close to him and led her into the act that she was reluctant to go through with during the night.  
Last night it was a decision he respected. He fell asleep with her in his arms, leaving her sexually untouched. But this morning it was a decision they embraced together. In peace and in love they dived into this great sea of emotion once and again.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~   
  
Sentiel Bordman sat on his bed. Late the previous evening he arrived on Repudiation and was assigned a room in the barracks by some unnoteworthy person.  
He knew his mission but was distracted that he hadn't been sent out by her Excellency's orders. The room was silent accept for a small staticky rasping noise. It took him a moment to figure out that it was his Com unit.  
-Who... no one is supposed to contact me here!  
He scrambled to his bag and dug for the small device. The rasping got louder as it became nearer to the surface of his bag.  
"... (static)... click click... Bordman! Do you copy- over?"  
The voice was somewhat unfamiliar to him. No one knew that he was there- he was almost afraid to pick it up.  
"... Bordman!... Sentiel... it's Reider... come in, over!"  
-Reider? Didn't she... his eyes widened at the continued thought.   
Quickly he picked up the call telling her to switch channels. Unaware that the frequency they chose was being picked up somewhere far away, he took her call.  
After almost ten minutes of arguing with her, he disconnected from her. He was baffled at her display of action and wondered if he should report to earth about it. He decided that it would be best if he began his mission. It was already late in the morning and technically, he should have been half way over.  
The battle was going to begin sooner than expected. It was not something he wanted to happen but he was involved. He would complete his mission as he was commanded but he would not like any bit of it. It had been almost seven years since he last saw Lucrezia Noin. She had been his idle and now... he sighed.  
-Lets get this ball moving.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Ten Nineteen a.m.  
  
Drake Carter stared at the message he received only twenty three hours ago. In two days those pilots were going to be attacked and he would have to initiate troops into battle. It was something he was training his soldiers to do, something Marinova and Gardina were training   
-their- soldiers to do at the words of High Minister Tarran almost two years ago. Something that neither of the men involved in producing the militaristic power that now existed hoped would ever become a reality.  
His meeting with Karizma Cervantes proved worthy of the information he received from the Commander and that of what he knew of the pilots. At the same time, it sent him into the terrors of pre war.  
He prepared to call in Lucrezia Noin but was interrupted with a great surprise.  
"Enter," he called in response to a hard knock on his door.  
A young man stepped in dressed in attire fit for a prince.  
  
~~~  
  
Ten Twenty One a.m.  
  
Lucrezia's eyes widened at the young man the corporal presented to her.  
"Bordman! What are you doing here?"  
He stood saluting her. "Captain."  
"At ease," she said. She was surprised to see him still in military uniform. After WASP, she thought that he had retired the rank and had started a new life.  
He dropped his hand and stood at parade rest handing her his orders. It was menacing to wait for the opportunity to begin his mission.  
Lucrezia studied his record and billet and set it down on her desk.  
"Very well, Major." She extended her arm to him. He took the offering. "Welcome aboard." She yelled for the young corporal to come in. Upon his entrance gave instructions that Bordman was to be led to a Special's unit under her command.  
"Yes, Ma'am," the corporal replied and led Sentiel away.  
At their departure she picked up her phone and called to the Men's place. "Come on..." she said tapping her fingers on the desk. She knew something was wrong. Sentiel Bordman was not a serious kind of person. Serious enough, as they all were, when it came to battle but to be so cold in checking in? It was not like him. Not to mention that it had been late in the day before he chose to make himself known.  
"Duo here, what's your mission in life?"  
Duo smiled affectionately when he saw her staring back.  
"Duo... where's Heero?"  
At first he thought her sedate appearance was nothing more than "up all night, can't wake up" tiredness. "Well! See if I greet -You- with a smile next time," he joked.  
"Duo please! I don't have time for this... where is he?"  
Duo snapped into business when he realized she was serious. "Hold on."  
  
Heero had been in his room all morning, searching through papers, going over -all- the information he had, reading and re-reading and still again. There was nothing that told him what was about to happen. Nothing that gave him warning... nothing accept...   
He took out an envelope from his desk and another and the last letter he received before Karizma showed up.  
--"It is for my affection of peace that I send the following information. Unfortunately, my hopes for peace have been wiped clean by pressures of an upcoming war."  
He looked down at the two envelopes. Both of them were envelopes that had contained one or another letter to Duo.  
-Oh God...  
A knock came to his door.  
"What," he called.  
  
Duo cleared his throat just as Heero opened the door most disturbed and obviously unpleased. But there was something more registering in his eyes. Something that caused him to look almost... weak.  
"Captain Noin is on the line."  
Duo stepped aside in concern and watched Heero quickly make his way to the study. They both entered only to face a blank screen. Immediately he dialed back to her office. When she came on screen, her expression was sheer and transparent.  
"Mr. Yuy," she said in as cordial a tone as she could muster, "I will have to return your call... Sir."  
Heero disconnected and walked over to the window.  
"What's wrong, Heero?"  
Duo walked up behind him observing the area as Heero was doing. There was nothing.  
  
~~~  
  
Karizma could sense that something was not right. She left her room unnoticed and made her way out of the house and across the hill to Relena's home.  
  
Ten Twenty-Nine a.m.  
  
Quatre watched Karizma cautiously make her way up the hill. He observed her moves as she continually surveyed the grounds around her.  
-Hmm... what have we got, Miss Cervantes. Are you here to kill or protect?  
He made a move for the door barely missing its swing when Heero entered followed by Trowa and Duo.  
"Where's Wufei?"  
Quatre shrugged, surprised at Heero's urgency.  
"Where's the girl," Heero inquired.  
Quatre pointed to Relena's.  
"-Damn-!" Heero's sudden burst caused the others to jump slightly. "Quatre... go to Relena's, Trowa... get Sally on line and see if she knows where he is."  
"Knows where who is," Wufei asked. "What's going on?"  
They all stopped for a moment, forgetting -all- that was going on.  
"What?" Wufei looked at them confused at their fixation on him.  
"You Dog!" Duo smirked and patted him on the back. "Hope it was worth it, it may be the only chance you get," he chuckled.  
-They know? How?  
"It's ok," Heero said with a decisive tone. Just as he was about to go into detail about his information, he was interrupted.  
"Yeah," Trowa added. "Heero always said it was ok to act on your emotions!"  
Quatre could not believe his eyes. He had never seen a bit mark so big before.  
"Now..." Heero began but again, was interrupted.  
"So... did it hurt?" Quatre's eyes were full of question and sympathy pains at the sight.  
Wufei choked on his breath. "-Excuse me-?" His eyes became relentless as did his voice.   
-How -dare- they ask me such things!  
Heero could see that he was not going to win this so he sighed and joined in the conversation that took precedence over his own news.  
"He's referring to the bite on your..." it wasn't exactly on his neck or chest, more so on the shoulder. He improvised for a lack of better words. "Um... collar bone," he pointed.  
"Yeah... I always heard that there were bats on this place," Duo jested.  
Wufei became bright with embarrassment. His shirt did not cover it as he had hoped.  
"Well," Heero began again. "Now that you're here..."  
"Yeah and we all know where you've been," Duo still teased, dodging Heero's wayward glance.  
"Ahem... now that you're here... we have another problem."  
Heero went into explanation about Lucrezia's call and Quatre informed them of his spotting Karizma going to Relena's place.  
Trowa stared out the window into the fields as he listened to Heero's instructions.  
"Quatre... go to Relena's, see what the deal is there. Trowa, Wufei- you two go to the hangar and Duo, you come with me to the base."  
Quatre objected. "Please, Heero... Let me got the base."  
Heero looked at him and then faced Duo.  
"I'll go," Trowa said.  
Wufei was getting irritated. "This is not time to be picky! If what Heero says is true, we are -all- in trouble! Let's go!" he demanded.  
"Fine! Trowa... to Relena's, Duo with Wufei... Quatre..." they all headed for their separate ways before Heero turned sharply to Trowa.  
"Your -LIFE- Trowa!"  
Trowa's green eyes reflected his word that regardless of what happened he would protect Relena with all he had to give.  
-You better, Heero thought as he and Quatre ran to the hummer. Duo and Wufei were already on their way to the hangar.  
Trowa had been highly suspicious of Cervantes. He didn't care about the appearance of peace she presented. It didn't even matter to him that Heero semi trusted her. All that mattered was that he was going to get to the bottom of the facade that he envisioned her carrying.  
  
* ~~~~~ * ~~~~~ *  
  
"Commander, we just got word that one Sentiel Bordman has been set up on the base on Repudiation and was sent by the orders of..."  
"Let me guess," offered the Commander. "...Zechs-... Marquise..."  
There was a brief silence.  
"Y-yes... Commander. And I intercepted this transmission earlier today," Dox said as he pushed a button and waited for the speakers to produce the sound of his tape. Seconds later they were listening to a brief communication between two unknown soldiers.  
There was a great deal of interference but the Commander managed to make a vital part of it out.  
"Replay it Dox."  
He did.  
"...-ot...-et... -ait... -ders..."  
"(static)... -o!...-scraft... -ies... -day..."  
"Peacecraft dies today."  
"Commander... are you sure?"  
A pound on the desk assured him of the answer.  
"Damn it! Get Carter -and- Gardina on the line!"  
"B- but..."  
"-NOW-!"  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Ten Fifty-One a.m.  
  
"Zechs... are we ready for this?"  
Zechs Marquise was determined. His lust for total control ruled his every move. It had been   
-far -too -long for them -not- to be ready.  
"I have troops established where I want them, Highness. And now that Bordman is in place and should be in the middle of his mission, things should be moving rather quickly. If -that- is what you mean to inquire of."  
The young woman had once proved herself highly worthy of this position. She had done an excellent job at taking over the role he made for her. now she was showing a great deal of doubt. In Zech's eyes, this was -much- cause for concern.  
"What about Reider?" she asked.  
Zechs stared out into the world. It pleased him to know that soon -so very soon- the garden of Mobil suits and dolls in his view would be moving into action.  
"I think we know where she is. And its fine, because in exactly thirty eight minutes and fourteen seconds, the Peace Hall is going to come crumbling down. At the same time, Base Four will also be hit, resulting in the loss of a great deal of their resources."  
"Base... Four?"  
He turned around to face the young woman.  
"Marinova's..." he chuckled sarcastically, "Oops," he covered his mouth... "I mean Gardina's base." He smiled wickedly at the thought.  
"What about Tremma?"  
Zechs' amusement rolled away. He stared at her, narrowing his eyes at her. "She was -your- soldier. That is your job to decide what happens to her."  
He turned away from her and once again took in the view of the weapons he, himself, had designed. They would be the destruction of the Gundam pilots -and- the place they called home.  
"So Base Four will be hit and then it's off to Repudiation we go." He turned back to face her. "There, we will provoke and conquer the Gundam pilots and the Rock will become ours. Commander in Chief Drake Carter will meet Antonio Marinova in -HELL-!"  



	2. Default Chapter Title

Ah yes... the beauty of words on paper. One of the things I love about being a writer is that the plot can change within the blink of an eye! And not only that but being the one who decides what will happen without being really sure of what -WILL- happen!! Too cool!   
*Disclaimer* The characters and locations original to Gundam Wing do not belong to me, nor do I claim them! I only claim the ones that were conjured up by my very own imagination. I write cause I like it   
and I can so nobody sue me...  
  
EVERYWHERE A SURPRISE  
  
Duo and Heero walked side by side in silence. A few hundred yards or so more would put them in front of Relena's front gate and several hundred after that, they'd be home.  
It had been a long day. There had been more and more military procedures occurring. People were moving from the colonies to earth and from earth to the colonies and some had even began infiltrating Repudiation. It was said that peace was becoming more of a nightmare than a continued reality.  
"-That's- why I didn't want Relena here," Heero said.  
"Heero... you can't believe that Relena could have held peace all by herself! Surely not you!"  
Duo sighed. He knew Heero too well. It wasn't that he believed Relena could do it by herself alone, it was more that she was the structure that could have held it together. He also knew him so well that he didn't know -why- he bothered to ask his next question.  
"So what do you think of Wufei teaching her to fence?"  
He was closed tighter than a clam to the situation- completely opposing the matter all together. Not because he thought Relena could and would serve better without a weapon (all though that was his main point) but because she had managed to keep it hidden for so long. Even in the dispute Sally and he were going through, it was still kept quiet that he was training her at her request.  
"I'm trying not to, Duo."  
  
It had now been six weeks since Lucrezia and Quatre brought back Duo's latest letter. There was something to be said about the whole situation but no one could think of what it was.  
As time had passed from the first word that peace was in chaos on earth and the colonies, Repudiation began training more and more soldiers for combat.   
Heero and Duo both shared the same thought on that situation.  
"Then -why- did we claim this rock -Pacifist-?"  
The people of Repudiation were all, by heart or account, soldiers. They refused the safety of the colonies when they left earth because they believed that there would one day be a need for them to return.  
Most contended that if they felt "safe" they would not submit to training later. "If you're too comfortable, you lose too much," one man had stated.  
Others felt that they needed a place that the earth could not touch in order that they -may- accomplish strategic training and other such matters of military procedures. When Repudiation was found, it was an answered prayer. They claimed it pacifist for the sake of the colonies but insisted in concordance with others in keeping up with high military training.  
"When the era of war is in your blood, you aren't at home in times of peace."  
Duo could most definitely agree to that.  
Drake Carter had once been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Federation Reserve after the White Fang and during the WASP battle had been ranked one of the highest officers next to the Peace Ministers. And now on Repudiation had been appointed Commander in Chief of the small rock by the orders of High Minister Terran who then was Commander in Chief of L4. Not only was Drake now the "Higher up" on Repudiation but he was also the founder of the only military training center that the rock carried. He had only recently opened up the academy to serve one purpose. It was called The Drake Carter Academy for Strategic Capability Interactive Training.  
The base had not been so full of action in all the year and four and a half months as it had been in the last five or six weeks of it's establishment.  
  
"But -how- can -we- go back when we were refused by both?" Quatre had once asked. "Somehow in the last battle for peace, us Gundam Pilots became the bad guys."  
Duo remembered Quatre's very sad expression.  
"The earth has no military power. That is why they -have- to keep in alliance with the colonies because L4 is the only one," pause, "that has the capability of sustaining war."   
Trowa had clearly been observing the headlines and transmissions between colonies and earth for some time. His words held much truth and consequence.  
"But they -can't- do it alone," Quatre implored.  
"In keeping up with L4, they in turn have to keep up with the fact that we, too, are -also- capable of doing so, " Trowa replied.  
  
"Heero... have you told Relena that you love her yet?"  
It was a question Heero often asked of himself but refused to answer.  
"I'm not much on words, Duo... you -know- that!"  
Duo considered Heero's answer. "No... -Trowa- is not much on words," he teased but he understood Heero's logic. Actions -always- spoke louder than words... at least to Heero.  
"Did you ever stop to consider that maybe -she- is?"  
-Many times, Heero thought. -But how do you tell someone after six and a half years that you love her?  
Duo accepted Heero's silence as a notion of deep thought and consideration to the words spoken.  
"How would I even begin?" Heero asked more to the air than to Duo who took it as his favor to answer.  
Duo looked up at the two-story house they now stood in front of. "From the heart," he replied motioning up the walk.  
Heero looked up at the front door of Relena's home. He took a deep breath and turned back to Duo who had already begun his walk alone.  
"See ya later, Heero."  
  
Now that her secret was out, Relena practiced her fencing quite openly with her Trainer. She liked practicing with Wufei because despite his actions with Sally, he had -even if only in the last few years- become rather patient. He was indeed a good friend to her, as were the others.  
They had just taken a rest period so that he could demonstrate some techniques to her.  
"When your opponent moves forward," he started with a fixed motion but was politely interrupted.  
Heero had cleared his throat, mainly to announce his presence but also to show his disapproval.  
"Heero," Relena smiled. She turned to Wufei who had put down the sword.   
"Another time," he said and the two bowed at each other before he walked away.  
"Princess..." his breath was shallow. "Relena... we need to talk."  
Relena walked over to the patio deck and took a sip of water that had been left for her. She'd been sweating exceedingly from her training exercises and used this opportunity to re-hydrate as well as wipe the sweat from her face and neck.  
Heero admired her form. He'd rarely seen her out of dress uniform but when he did, it was always to his disadvantage. Today she was wearing shorts and a tee shirt. She was not shy of her features as she had once been. She turned to face him, glass in hand. He had a knot in his stomach. At that moment he wanted to hold her but he knew that he could not.  
"Yes, Heero, what is it?" she inquired finally.  
-"From the heart," Duo had said. He didn't know what he was afraid of. He had fought wars, killed enemies and had always been a straightforward kind of guy. What was the problem? He couldn't figure it out for his own life. But he knew... the problem was that Relena was not the enemy. She was not an opponent of war and though she had been at one time, she was not someone he wished to kill. So why could he not be up front with her?  
"Relena... I..." he watched her as she sat down calmly. -Why is this so hard? He walked over to the chair opposite her and searching his mind sat down. "From the heart," he heard in the back of his mind. He could still see Duo's concern in his mind but could not concentrate. He abruptly stood up, irritated with himself. He rubbed the back of his neck, searching... looking everywhere but at her.  
"Heero?" Relena's voice was soft and comforting. She stared up at the beautiful Prussian blue eyes that seemed to consciously avoid her own eyes.  
He wanted to do this differently but could not think how.  
"Have dinner with me tonight."  
Relena smiled, astonished at his behavior for such a simple statement.  
"Heero... I'm -already- having dinner with you tonight."  
He stared at her, confused. "Huh? No... I meant with -just- me."  
"Oh!" she gasped. "Ok, Heero..." she replied, still curious of his actions.  
"Alright then... I'll see you... tonight. I'll swing by for you." He looked down at her for the first time and then turned to walk away. Relena sat back, legs crossed; relaxed as she held the glass in both hands near her lips.  
"Why Mr. Yuy... you -are- acting rather strangely indeed." She took another sip and watched as he disappeared into the house. "What -is- the problem, Heero?"  
  
"Well, how'd it go?" Duo smiled, dreamy eyed at his own little vision of Heero pledging his love to Relena.  
"It didn't," Heero announced.  
There went Duo's vision. He stared disturbed irritably at Heero's remark.  
"Heero Yuy! Are you gonna go on the -rest- of your life keeping this from..."  
Heero walked past Duo casually.  
"I'm having dinner with her, Duo. Don't get so excited."  
"Ah!" Duo exclaimed. "Now -That's- what I like to hear!" His smile radiated with gleaming, white teeth.  
"With a smile like -that- who needs the sun?" Heero remarked without emotion.  
Duo gleamed brighter still. Heero was nervous and such snide remarks were his way of dealing with it. He laughed as he watched Heero walk toward the kitchen and then change his course to the stairs. Moments before reaching the stairs, he changed his course again and headed further down to the dining room yelling for any of the servants who would answer.  
"Yup... got it all worked out, don't ya buddy!"  
  
  
Heero employed their servants Weidam and Paul, who played a bit of piano, for his evening with Relena. Since the piano was in the sitting room at the back of the house, he decided to have the two set up everything around the veranda out back. While they worked, he went on his way to pick up Relena as promised.  
When he got there, she had been waiting on the small block that formed her porch. Her beauty was arresting his heart. He stared at her, dumbfounded and suddenly struck with amnesia. He'd temporarily forgotten why he'd come.  
Her appearance was dazzling. She had her hair pinned into a bun while some strands too short to catch in the hold, lined the sides of her face. The outfit she chose was rather flattering to her figure. The pale lavender color was just soft enough to give off her beautiful glow and also enhance the color of her eyes. Her elegance was quite graceful and very becoming. The sweetheart shape of the bodice clearly defined the contours of her breasts, waist and hips and then fell flowing down, rounded downward at the ankles and arching up just below the knees in front.  
Heero felt considerably underdressed, though he did choose a three-piece suit for his own attire. -"You gotta dress... nice," Duo had said. "What if you go over there and she's all decked out and there you are in jeans and a tee shirt? How are you going to feel then?"  
"What if I go all decked out and -she's- in jeans and a tee shirt?"  
"No such luck, my friend! You know Relena! She doesn't even come to a -regular- dinner in jeans and a tee shirt! Besides... if it went as bad as you say it did... she's bound to know that   
-something- is up!"   
He suddenly realized that he was staring at her, gawking at her as he had done when she challenged him to a sword fight.  
"Um... uh..." he stuttered for words. "You are so... -gorgeous-," he stated.  
Relena smiled, blushing at his words.  
"Shall we go, then?"  
Heero still stared at her, amazed at her beauty. "Oh... yes," he extended his arm to her and clasped gently her hand as she grabbed his.  
  
Duo stared down at the letter that had only just arrived. The words written on it caused him to be almost embarrassed for the person on the other end of the letters. "His Majesty", it read. He no longer held any concern as he once had, now instead of concern it was increasing anger.  
"Blake... who delivered it?"  
"Mail Carrier, Sir. Said it had to be delivered to you right away."  
"Yes... but how did he -know- it was to me?"  
The man stared blankly. "He had a written address, Sir."  
Duo, bewildered, dismissed the gentleman who served as their butler. Did he -want- to open it? -Of course not, he said to himself answering his internal question. He sighed deeply, thinking that it might be a good idea to take it to Heero or Quatre but he didn't want to interrupt Heero and Relena and Quatre was out with Lucrezia and Trowa somewhere.  
-I wonder how it's going with Heero, anyway.  
He took his mind off the letter for a moment to visualize his idea of what Heero was going through. He imagined his friend being highly serious and professing his love without emotion- as only Heero could, of course! He chuckled to himself. -Nah... he's too emotional when it comes to her... even for him!  
He sighed as he involuntarily looked down at the letter again. -Get it over with, Duo. He did and much to his surprise it was full of blank pages folded neatly and individually. He was struck with utter confusion.  
"Master Duo," called a voice from the other side of the door.  
Duo got up and walked toward the voice. Slowly he opened the door. "Yeah?" He felt extremely exhausted all of a sudden.  
"Sir, there is someone to see you." Duo looked out the door but saw no one. "She is waiting down stairs in the study, sir."  
Duo scratched his head, acknowledged the words and closed the door.  
"Uh... sir..." Duo opened the door again and stared expressionless at the man. "What should I tell the young lady?"  
Duo looked back at his desk where the pages of his newest arrival lay scattered on the flat surface. He'd been in his room most of the evening, relaxing and therefore had been walking around in a pair of boxers and without a tee shirt.  
"I'll be down shortly."  
  
Moments later he walked down a flight of stairs, fully dressed and muttering about the size of the mansion. -Why did they listen to me? And why did I have to choose the fourth floor?  
He chuckled dryly. The size of the house only took a year and something to get to him. But as he would have it, he continually reminded himself -and- the others..."Hey! -You- can complain if you want to," he'd say, "but -I- find that it helps to keep me in shape!" He would laugh at their dry responses but this time he was not laughing.  
He entered the study to find it empty. Looking around he observed no sign of life but did notice the opened doors to the balcony.  
After looking around, he silently, ever so carefully, walked to the open doors. His heart caught in his throat as he stared at the girl who had his back to him. It wasn't until she turned around that he realized that his eyes were playing tricks on him. For -before- she turned around the dark, mid-back length hair was long, flowing blond hair. -Dorothy, he questioned silently. Then she turned around.  
"Hello Duo."  
  
Heero and Relena stared out into their world. He held her close to him, inhaling the scent of her perfume, which did its job in melting him bit by bit, every time he took a breath. Her hair smelled of a sweet sensation causing him to have to remember why he was there with her- the reason behind the dinner. The evening had gone seemingly well and now it was time for the big finish... or perhaps the blissful beginning.  
"Princess..." he spoke softly. The knot in his stomach began to grow tighter and tighter still. He felt as though he were sweating profusely but knew that he was not.  
Relena took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had waited all night for this moment- at least she hoped. She turned around to face him. His eyes were soft and caring. They caught her and held her captive to his love for her. She could not move- didn't -want- to move.  
"Yes," she answered respectfully.  
Heero leaned in and kissed her with such a great passion that she felt as though she were floating. The world no longer existed; the house, the veranda and all that surrounded them no longer had a place in her reality.  
He pulled away from her gently, unwilling at first but highly imperative that he needed to do so. Her eyes opened slowly and focused on his gazing at her lovingly.  
"I love you, Relena Peacecraft." He could tell that she wanted to cry. "I have loved you from the moment I saw you that day on the shore and I love you more now than ever I have before." Now, she did cry. He dried her tears knowing that this was what she wanted and wondering why he'd waited so long to say it.   
For Relena six and a half years of waiting disappeared in the moments that had just passed.  
"I love you my sweet Princess." He brushed a stray hair out of her face so that he could behold her beauty with full pleasure. "I love you."  
Relena filled all her senses with his love. She couldn't get enough of him as it seemed that he could not of her. He loved her. Truly and deeply, he loved her.  
"Oh Heero..." she cooed, "What took you so long?" She tiptoed and kissed him, sweetly, tenderly, lovingly-- longingly. "I love you Heero Yuy! More than you'll ever know!"  
They smiled deeply gazing into each other's eyes. It was an absolutely beautiful moment.  
  
Duo didn't know what to say. Words never escaped him but somehow, they had managed to hide themselves from him at this very moment. This very moment that he never expected and therefore, never really prepared himself for.  
"Uh..." he stared at her contritely. Where was Trowa when he needed him to send all inquiring females away? But this was no inquiring female, this was... "Um..." he found himself rubbing the back of his head feeling for his braid. For some reason he felt the need to make sure that it was still there.  
"Aren't you even going to say hello?"  
He stared at her wishing somehow that it -was- Dorothy looking back at him.  
"Hello, Hilde." He stared dryly at her. Her hair had grown. -She- had grown. He couldn't be certain but she seemed taller, still very petite in size but different somehow.  
"Is that -it-?  
What did she want from him? He couldn't imagine that it was an invitation of sorts.  
"What do you want, Hilde?" His voice was calm but he could sense that she could feel his animosity. He silently reproached himself for not asking Blake who it was come to see him.  
"You can't still be angry..." she laughed.  
Duo did not laugh. "Why would I still be angry?" He was still cool, calm and collective.  
"Come -ON-, Duo!" She was quickly becoming disgusted with his demeanor. She tried playing off her annoyance by laughing but Duo did not retreat his unemotional attitude. "It's been almost -Two- years!"  
So it had. "And?"  
"You're still holding a grudge, aren't you?"  
Her disgust was highly apparent in her voice and features.  
"No, Hilde. -I- still work for the rights of peace."  
"Why'd I even come here?" She pushed past him roughly and headed for the door.  
"Why -Did- you come here, Hilde?"  
She turned around firmly staring into his eyes.  
"-What -the -hell -does -it -matter -to -YOU-?"  
"Go home Hilde. Or wherever it is that you came from." He turned his back to her.  
"Aghhhh!" she screamed.  
Duo turned around just in time to block her threatening fist.  
  
Heero turned to the sound of the scream.  
"We both know that wasn't Lucrezia," Relena spoke.  
Hurriedly the two ran from the veranda into the house and up the stairs.  
"Perfect ending," each thought to themselves most irritably.  
  
"What was -that-?" Lucrezia eyed Quatre suspiciously and with much concern.  
"I can guess," Trowa said and moments later, they too were running up the stairs.  
Within seconds of Heero and Relena, the group arrived in the study and stared.   
The entrance was blocked and full of questioning people. They all stared at the sight in front of them. Duo held Hilde by the arms- a defense he used to protect the person he refused to physically hurt. They all could see that he was protecting -himself- from her.   
Duo looked at the others while Hilde struggled to get away from him. He didn't want them to see this, not the way it looked. He pushed her away with slight force and let go; it was a move he immediately regretted. At the very moment his grip left her, she did exactly what she had set out to do. Regardless of the spectators, she punched him with merciless rage. Before he could retaliate, Trowa stood beside him with a grip on his arm.  
"What are you doing here?"  
Trowa's voice was calm but not sincere. Harsh and ruthless was more the tone he carried to match the look of pure hatred he gave to her.  
Tears fell from her eyes. She looked Trowa square in the face but as it was, he was unnerved by her emotion.   
Heero held Relena by the shoulders, sensing her hostility toward the girl.  
Lucrezia was held back by Quatre as she was pressing to get a hold of Hilde after witnessing the actions she took.  
Hilde stared at everyone. She wiped her tears, sniffling. Did they -all- hate her? She asked... "Do you all still harbor anger toward me?"  
Relena broke away from Heero's grip. He knew that he could not hold her long and feared what she may have become thanks to Wufei's training.  
"Anger? WHY would any of us -still- be angry at -you-?"  
"Relena," Heero called. He moved forward but Quatre placed a gentle grip on his arm and then let go to continue holding Lucrezia back.  
"When -I- needed you... you walked away. When Duo -Needed- you... where were you?"  
Duo released himself from Trowa's hold and walked up to Relena. This was not a moment he wanted to re-live. Memories flooded back to each of them but he refused to let it linger. He put one hand on her shoulder and looked at Hilde.   
"Please leave," he stressed. He turned away nudging for Relena to follow. At her resistance he pulled her away. Hilde left without another word.  
For a long while there was silence. Tension filled the room. Quatre cleared his throat, Heero sighed. Relena handed Duo a tissue to put on his cheek. After that, nobody moved until someone did.  
"Miss Relena, you're looking quite lovely tonight!"  
Everyone turned almost resentful at Duo's remark. He smiled in a goofy manner that was all him. "What?" -Somebody had to break the monotony. She -did- look very nice. Duo winked proudly at Heero before wincing at the pain he felt. He managed a slight smile at him instead. Heero, who managed to abnegate a smile, could not hide the blushing.  
Duo wanted to burst but held it in. His face was hurting. He thought it a good idea to take a visit to Sally.  
Heero walked past Quatre to Relena. He put his arms around her and held her. She leaned into him, holding her hands on his.  
"I love you," he whispered.  
Relena was happy to hear him say it and was content that he had not felt that he had said it enough. She tilted her head to look up at him, "and I you," she replied.  
"You do look beautiful, Relena." Lucrezia smiled as she tugged at Quatre. "Walk me home," she said to him but instead of that, they both walked with Duo to Sally's place. After they arrived, they called back to the house to inform Heero that Duo was going to need stitches. Soon there after, the others arrived.  
  
"She just came out of no where?"  
Sally tended to Duo's face. Hilde's attack left a healthy bruise around his eye and a nice hash mark just below his left eye.  
"Heeeey!" he shouted at the pain he felt. Sally had just stuck a needle through his skin.  
"-You're- the one who refused the anesthesia so stop squirming and let me do this! Otherwise you are going to have a healthy scar to go along!" She waited for him to settle down and proceeded once more. "Was she holding something or wearing a ring?"  
He hadn't noticed.  
"I don't remember," he answered.  
"Well... either she was holding something or her nails are really long."  
Duo flinched as she put in the finishing touch.  
"She punched me, Sal."  
Sally flinched at his words. "Ooo.. I bet that..." she looked at him and smiled. It was useless to finish her comment.  
"It did," he said.  
After she finished, she placed stretch tape on it to hold everything together. "I really hope this doesn't scar," she sighed and gave him a pat to look in the mirror. He was not happy.  
  
"If he scars, I will kill her myself!"  
Quatre remained silent at her remark. He'd never seen her this upset. She paced around the room in an irate state of mind.  
"Is she going to be ok," Lucrezia asked, wearing much concern in her eyes.  
Heero said nothing. He was angered by her words and left the room.  
Seeing him exit the scene threw her senses. Her words finally registered in her mind.  
"Oh my..." she had a hand over her mouth and looked at the others. Tears flooded her eyes. "What have I become?" she cried.  
"Relena... I'm sure you didn't mean..."  
"No!" she said loudly. "No! I meant it! How could I? Oh my God..."  
Quatre stood up. Lucrezia eyed him cautiously as Relena left the room opposite Heero.  
  
Wufei stood near the window of the small room.  
"I want you to stop training her," Heero said. He stood in the doorway watching Relena's trainer and his friend.  
"Why?"  
"Because she's a -Pacifist-!" he exclaimed.   
"She doesn't do this as a use for battle, Heero," Wufei snapped aggressively.  
"Wufei! She just said that she would -kill- Hilde if Duo scarred!"  
"Are you suggesting that it is -my- fault that she chose those words?" His voice was hard, eyes fierce as he stared at Heero. "I'm sorry, Heero, but you claimed once that you'd do the same after what she did. We -All- did."  
Heero's fixation on Wufei was pure rage.  
"I'm suggesting that you stop training her."  
He left Wufei standing where he was.  
  
Duo and Sally entered the room from the examining room they were just in. This room was grim.  
"What's up," Duo asked. "Where are the others?"  
Lucrezia stood up. "Duo.. Quatre went to talk to Heero... Relena went that way... we thought that you should..."  
He looked down as he knew the extent of the request. He nodded and left in the direction Lucrezia pointed.  
Sally questioned Trowa silently and then Lucrezia. Neither gave a suitable response.  
  
Duo ran into Seita Bare' on his way through the passage of trees.  
"Miss Relena went there," she pointed and smiled at him.  
"Thanks," he offered and continued.  
Seita looked back at him as he walked on. "He's no Quatre, that's for sure!"  
Duo turned around at the sound of her words, shocked that she would say something so audible such as that. He blew it off when he found Relena.  
"Relena..."  
He watched her wipe her eyes quickly. He felt bad that he had nothing of use to give her.  
"Duo..." she turned around and then stopped blank at the sight of him. She fell to the ground crying at the sight of his black eye and stitches.  
"Oh Relena.. it's not that bad... it's just dark," he joked trying to make her smile.  
"Duo... I said I would kill her!"  
Duo kneeled beside her.  
"Relena... we all -say- things... "  
"Duo.. I meant it! What kind of person am I?" she pleaded.  
"Sweetheart... there are times in a person's life when certain situations become so high stressed that we say and do things not becoming of our nature." He paused briefly before continuing. "When that happens it is best to just turn away for a moment to let the dust settle and then look at it from a different stand point."  
"And sometimes you need to pinpoint the cause of the feelings and deal with it."  
Duo looked up to see Wufei standing there. Words of wise, Duo thought.  
"Relena," he demanded her attention. She looked up at him. "Do you want to stop training?"  
She wiped her eyes again. "I -want- to not harbor animosity."  
Wufei walked over to her and helped her up; Duo stood also.  
"Relena... did you -deal- with Hilde's actions or did you push it out of your mind?"  
Duo stood with his hands on his hips. -He- hadn't dealt with her actions... not to satisfaction, any way.  
"I let her go," Relena said.  
"Your guilt is not from the blade, Relena. It's from your heart."  
Duo sighed. It was too true. Relena looked at them both, eyes full of tears.  
"Oh Duo! I'm so sorry," she cried.  
"Ah... don't worry about it. Who knows... maybe it'll give me a new look!"  
"Duo--" she cried.  
He raised his hands in defense, smiling at her.  
"Come on," Wufei held out his hand to her.  
  
"You can't treat her as though she's a child, Heero."  
"What? I don't treat her like a child!"  
Heero felt resentment toward that remark.  
"Well then, you can't treat her like the fragile Queen that cannot defend herself anymore!"  
Quatre stared harshly at Heero.  
"Why not?" Heero felt resentment to that one as well.  
Quatre turned away to face the far away nothing that stared back at him from the horizon. It was dark and only post lights illuminated the darkness around them.  
"Because she became your equal the moment she landed on this rock."  
Heero looked at the ground. He knew Quatre was right but still he felt the anger burning inside.  
"Did you not hear her back there, Quatre? She said she would -kill- Hilde if Duo scarred!"  
Quatre walked to a tree and leaned up against it.  
"Are you upset about the 'kill' part or the 'Duo' part, Heero?"  
"What--?"  
Quatre stared quietly. Heero remembered his reaction when he learned that Trowa and Relena spent half the night together. Was he jealous? Is that what Quatre was implying?  
"So you're saying it's ok for her to say such things?"  
Quatre looked away. "I'm saying that you should think about your actions and reasoning and then remember what -she- went through with Hilde's. If she hasn't dealt with it properly, who are you to dictate what her -reactions- should be?"  
Quatre was right. "Hmmm."  
  
"...Anyway, we heard a scream and ran up and that's when we saw her," Lucrezia finished relaying the story to Sally.  
"And nobody knows -why- she came?"  
Trowa shook his head. "Nope."  
Seita had been listening for some time, observing the others and their guarding of the name of Duo's attacker.  
"Why would anyone want to hurt Mr. Duo?"  
The others regarded her question as a ploy to get more information, they felt it was not her concern.  
"Who knows," Lucrezia answered quietly.  
Sally watched the young girl, studying her inquisitive attitude. She remembered back to a conversation she and Lucrezia had about the young Seita Bare'.  
--"She's an -excellent- soldier, don't get me wrong!"  
"But?"  
Lucrezia's facial expression revealed much about the situation.  
"Silly but... she's in love with Quatre!"  
Sally laughed. "Why Lucrezia Noin! Are you jealous?"  
Lucrezia sat quietly for a moment. "At first... but he told me he can't stand the way she acts around him, like he is a younger one of his older sisters... which one did he say?" She tried to recall, but couldn't. "He told me he looks at her quite as a younger sibling."  
"Then what's the problem," Sally queried.  
"The problem is that she's so busy concentrating on everyone else's business and not spending enough time working on her own!"  
Sally bit he lip, concerned for her friend. "Have you talked to Gardina about it?"  
Lucrezia sighed deeply.  
"He wants me to enroll her at the academy."  
"And you don't -want- to?"  
Lucrezia was silent for a minute.  
"A part of me wants to send he back to L4 instead. Let her train under General Marinova."  
Marinova, they all knew, was the hardest officer in all military structure. He had a reputation for being a hard-ass to the roughest of hard-asses but never used a lick of profanity. He was a hard case yet always treated his soldiers as human beings. Marinova was the kind of man people respected and were intimidated by upon their first glance at him. he never -demanded- respect, he simply earned it by being the most successful leader turning out the highest quality of soldiers. Never the less, he was immensely feared.  
Lucrezia had been under his instruction for the first eight and a half months after the banishment before arriving on Repudiation and stayed under his authority until he received orders to send her to the rock to work under their Commander in Chief, Drake Carter.  
"That's a bit harsh," Sally commented.  
"Yeah, but at least she'd get her act together!"--  
  
Sally sighed. It was true enough.  
"I knew a girl once who claimed to know Mr. Duo!"  
Everyone turned to face her.  
"Well... I didn't really -know- her but I knew -of- her and I heard her talking about..." she paused dropping her eyebrows in obvious confusion, "she talked about -all- of you!"  
The room was silent as Seita searched her memory. "What was her name? I think it started with a 'C'... Caty... no... was it Cathy..." she looked up and shrugged it off.  
Sally stole a glance at Trowa and Lucrezia.   
"I dunno... she had eyebrows from Hell, though! I think it was her -last- name that started with a 'C'..." She stood up and walked to the window in time to see Duo, Wufei and Relena coming to Sally entrance. She gave no thought or notice to the gripping expression on the faces of the others in the room. "Oh.. I don't remember, anymore... that was so long ago! For all I know it could have been a dream... I don't know! But I do remember that another friend of mine had claimed to know you!"  
The room was silent when Duo and Relena came walking in followed by Wufei. Seita turned swiftly around, almost excited. "Do any of you know Hilde Schbeiker?"  
  
  
6.  
MEASURES OF THE HEART  
Part I: Memories That Linger  
  
Heero sat at his desk. He was beat by the commotion, concerned about Relena and irritated by Hilde's shameless appearance. And now... this.  
Duo sat back in the chair in front of the desk staring at Heero.  
"That's it?"  
Duo nodded. Heero pushed the pages off the desk with aggravated force. He rose form hi chair impudently. The letters kept coming, each more mysterious than the last.  
"You have -no- clue about who might be sending them?  
Duo stared almost without concern.  
"Heero? Why are you taking this out on me? If I -Knew- don't you think I would have this figured out by now?"  
Heero sighed. He knew he was acting juvenile. Everything was in chaos. With earth, the colonies and now Repudiation and closer still in their own lives, something was amiss.  
"Seven empty pieces of paper." He paced continually repeating his thought. "What is the significance of seven sheets of paper?"  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
"Trowa... I really don't -need- you or Quatre to guard my door!" Her voice jumped with irritation.  
"Relena," he expressed his words firmly. Relena stood taken aback. "Heero sent us here for a reason and we're -Staying-!"  
Quatre swallowed his breath at Trowa's emotion. -Emotion!  
Relena placed a hand on her chest almost choking at Trowa's harshness. His frustration frightened her.  
Trowa, noticing her slight fear, or more appropriate: surprise, and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "Relena..." he paused, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean..."  
Relena touched his hand and smiled. "I understand," she answered back.   
With those words she turned away from him and wished them both a goodnight.  
  
~~~  
  
"Anything I can do further, Princess?"  
-Not unless... "No," she sighed. "Thank you."  
"Good night then."  
-"Go home, Princess. Go to bed and stay there."  
Heero's words and the memory of his eyes forced her to be obedient.  
"Darn it, Heero. Why couldn't -you- come here?" Frustrated, she closed her eyes.  
  
~~~  
  
"Do you really think Hilde will attack Relena?"  
Quatre's inquisition loomed over them in the other wise silence of the night air.  
"You saw what she did to Duo," Trowa said. He -did- feel something; what it was, he was unsure of. "But I don't think -Hilde- is the problem."  
"You don't?" Quatre's confusion became sheer bewilderment. "Why not?"  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Heero sat back down in the chair, observing the absurdity of the sheets of paper on the floor. He regarded Duo's concern as more than he refused to show. Duo grieved, he could tell, but chose to do it in silence.  
Duo's thoughts kept reflecting back to the evening's episode... another letter, Hilde showing up out of nowhere... Seita Bare' claiming to know her. He couldn't place it and knew that there was more that someone wasn't telling him but could not figure out what or why.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
"Wufei, she said her last name started with 'C' and that she," her mind quickly jumped to Seita's words. She chose her own words differently, "uh... had strange facial features."  
Wufei was irked by Sally's words.  
"Sally, that doesn't mean -anything-!"  
Sally was enraged. How could he not see?  
"Wufei, you are impossible sometimes! Don't you see?"  
Wufei stood up; he'd had enough. He stood in front of her and held her gently but firmly. "Sally... enough. We don't know how long it's been and we don't know much about her back ground." He was gentle. "But you and I both know that Dorothy is -dead-!"  
Sally retreated, pulling away from his grip.  
"Sally," he called after her.  
"Forget it, Wufei... you only caught the tail end of the conversation."  
-Was she crying? He walked into the kitchen where she wiped clean the imaginary dirt on the counter top.  
"Sal-?"  
She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She -was- crying. He held her close to him.  
"Woman, look at me..." he demanded lovingly.  
She did look at him, tears streaming down her face. She felt almost embarrassed about the fact that she was crying because she didn't know -why- she was crying. Her eyes met his.  
"I love you."  
Sally almost fell to her knees. She was certain that had he not been holding her she'd most definitely have been on the floor.  
"What? You... you..."  
"I love you, Sally Po."  
Inside she was screaming for joy. Outside, she was in complete shock. Her heart raced, she could feel herself blushing and quickly turned away. He cupped her chin tenderly and brought her back to look at him.  
"Wufei... I... you love me?"  
He smiled at her. "Yes, I do and I felt it time to tell you." He smiled with great affection toward her. "You are mine, Woman and I love you."  
Sally smiled lightly and then giggled. She loved him too. "Oh my sweet, sweet man! I love you too," she exclaimed just before he staked his claim to her lips.  
He brushed her lips with his, teasing her, all the while looking into her soft, beautiful eyes. She gazed up into the depths of his and closed hers as she took him into her. His arms held her, his body pressed her and his lips entangled her heart. Moments passed before he stepped away from her.  
"I'm staying here tonight, Sal."  
"Ok," she gleamed cheerfully.  
"To protect you," he said in a more serious tone. There was nothing he wanted to do more than bed her at that moment but he could not. For whatever reason, Heero had asked him not to leave her alone. He kissed her again and felt her hands on his chest.  
As he pulled away from her, he could not convince himself that this needed to stop. Her hands on his chest sent an electrical shock through his entire being. They could feel the other's need- the desire burning deep within.  
"I love you," he spoke softly and left her standing alone in the kitchen as much for her sanity as his own.  
She wanted to scream, instead she went to her room and cried.  
He stood on the porch staring out into the darkness, recalling the words she had handed to him earlier. It didn't matter, they both knew that Dorothy was dead.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
It was late- or early, Heero gathered. He didn't know what he was expecting.   
Lucrezia and Seita were set up in bedrooms down the hall, Trowa and Quatre were with Relena and Wufei was with Sally. It was true... Hilde was -not- the major concern but -something- was.  
  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~  
  
It had been nine days. Hilde had not returned but more soldiers from L4 had.  
Lucrezia had just been promoted not two days ago to Captain and had been assigned as an instructor at the academy by none other than Commander in Chief Drake Carter himself, at the recommendation of Generals Gardina and Marinova.  
Lucrezia was honored by the high recommendations but felt much concern as word had gotten out that General Marinova's plane had crashed in the Hitan Forest only a few hours prior to her promotion two days ago.  
Duo went to see Sally early that morning. The wound was healing nicely.  
"It doesn't look like it's going to scar," she said as she cut the stitches. She looked at him with much anxiety. "Well..." she cleaned it gently and gave him a mirror. "It might scar there," she pointed, "but the vitamin E I gave you should help."  
Duo stared at the hash on his face.  
"Sally... don't sugar coat it. That little wench -Wants- me to remember her and what better way to do it than leave her mark on my face?"  
Sally knew he was right. She had noticed that the vitamin E had helped substantially already but watched in silence as he left. There was no action she could think of to keep him from leaving so she stood silent knowing that trying would have been pointless.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
--"It is my job to ensure that peace is preserved, -not- to see that a war gets started. There is no justification to this senseless battle going on and I cannot, -Will not- give authorization to anyone who wishes to battle over the latest outbreak by this organization known as WASP."  
"But Queen... we -Need- someone to initiate the retaliation and we can't do that if we don't have your orders!"  
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant Colonel Carter, but I cannot give it."  
"Then we'll do it without you," he stated.--  
  
Duo remembered that day all too well. It was the day that he and the others were asked to fight as a part of the anti-WASP group. He remembered that people were gathering together to support their need. They -needed- an organized group to counter attack and the majority followed the Lieutenant's lead; going without orders passed down from the queen, herself.  
The guys held out as long as they could not agreeing with either aspect of this new outbreak. They couldn't sit idly by and watch the human race continue to digress nor could they go into battle in which they did not believe in. They had a high respect for Relena and would not jeopardize themselves or her for the mere satisfaction of taking out a group of terrorists.  
Without complicated recollection, the memories that he had pushed out of his mind so long ago came tumbling in, one after the other.  
  
~~~  
  
--"Hey," he smiled. Hilde was standing on his porch, waiting for him to get home. He leaned in to give her a kiss but she turned away. "What's wrong?"  
Several months previous to this moment, the five Gundam pilots had been asked by high-ranking officers to join the anti group. They refused claiming and staking their loyalty to Her Excellency. Then, shortly after, -she- became the target of WASP. They were faced with a wrenching decision. Protect her at the officers request or Respect that she had asked them not to. They chose to protect her because -She- was what they believed in and if she died, so did their beliefs. It had only been a short period; about three or four months, since they'd -willingly- gone into battle but had yet to take up their Mobil suits in the name of justice.  
"Duo...I..." she handed him a letter.  
He knew what it was. He had received one just like it, as had Noin sometime back and the others had also received one about the same time as his. It was a letter to actively employ current off-duty soldiers.  
He stared at it without opening to see if she had responded. They were all being called in and few had accepted.  
"I'm not going, Duo."  
He stared at her with intent to kill.  
"What? Hilde... we're talking about her Excellency's protection, here! What do you mean 'you're not going'?"  
She watched him sit down on the front steps.  
"I'm not going," she continued her protest.  
What could he do? He stared up at her, saddened by her choice; angered that she could do that and afraid for her. This act could very well cost her a great deal of her life; court-martial and indefinite sentencing of jail time or worse if the judge decided harshly penalized the act of insubordination.  
"L5 is offering refuge..."  
Duo stood up, his anger growing.  
"-WHAT-?"  
"There is a transport leaving tomorrow..." she could feel herself ready to cry.  
"Hilde you can't be serious! You are a -soldier-!"  
She backed away from him, fearing that he would strike her but decided to stand her ground. "NO, Duo! I -was- a soldier! I don't want to fight anymore!"  
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
"I'm sorry, Duo... but I can't!"  
He watched her walk away without taking the letter. The very next day Heero took up his Mobil suit and Duo followed.--  
  
~~~  
  
Duo sighed. He had not been there to see for himself but could not deny the reports that came in. Hundreds of people saying the same thing could not be wrong.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
All five Gundams had just been recognized as destroying the organizations -surrounding- the WASP. It wasn't known until seconds later that a small group had infiltrated the Peace Hall. When the news came out, Heero immediately left the group because of the news that her Excellency had just been taken captive.  
  
~~~  
  
"Are you sure, Heero?"  
"I was there, Duo."  
  
~~~  
  
Heero completely emptied his lungs as the memories of Hilde's actions came flooding back.  
  
Her Excellency had just been removed from the Peace Hall by a group of terrorists but after seeing that their get-away car had become the target practice for Wing Zero, they retreated back into the building.  
Mobil suits and dolls were everywhere. Soldiers ran about in armored tanks and suits. Complete chaos ruled the area. When Heero left, the others continued to attack while Duo left to figure out a way to destroy the main base of the WASP.  
  
~~~  
  
"Please..." Relena cried.  
They held her at gunpoint against a wall.  
He remembered that Noin had taken a bullet to her right shoulder but soon would be holding her gun to the captor's head.   
Heero had also taken a bullet, an abrasion merely, and had managed to knock out two of the six terrorists. He had just began to circle the area so that he could come in at a different angle when he got a call from Duo for much needed assistance.  
"I can't do that, Duo," he called back. "-She- is my mission."  
"It's the only way, Heero."  
"Can't, Duo... I'm -Not- leaving."  
"I'm going in, Heero. The god of Death strikes again!"  
Heero almost smiled. It had been a long time since Duo spoke such words of war.  
"Be careful, Duo."  
Heero stared at the COM unit. It was a nuisance to carry these things around but it was an issue from Alliance supply and he had no choice. Finally he made it around and now stood in the same room with Noin, Relena and her captor. He observed the scene; there was an addition.  
Hilde stood -in complete alliance uniform- between the man and Relena, holding her own gun to the man. His eyes were fixated on Relena's ready at any given moment to kill her. It was obvious that he cared nothing about the fact that killing her was going to end his own life.  
"Drop it," Heero said, his voice low and temporal.  
As Heero walked up he placed the nose of his gun at the base of the man's head. Noin backed away with her trigger still locked on the man. Once Hero had done so, Hilde lowered her own gun and walked away. As though it were a perfectly natural, normal thing to do, she walked away from the battle.  
"Where are you going," Noin yelled.  
"I -DID- my part," she called back as she exited the scene, tears in her eyes.  
Heero waited for the perfect moment to advance.  
"Kill me and nobody cares." The voice was soft and sure. "But right where your gun is, there is a bundle of sensory nerves that will send an impulse through out my body causing involuntary contraction of my muscles once enough pressure builds up. Kill me," he said coolly, "and your Queen dies too."  
Suddenly an explosion so extreme and so violent shook the ground causing everyone to stumble and fall. During the agitation of the ground the man grabbed Relena and stared back at Noin and Heero, seemingly with the upper hand.  
Heero and Noin worked together to ascertain Relena's safety. Hilde came in running, yelling words that no one could understand. The man became distracted, Noin dodged for Relena and Heero open fired.  
"The base... has... exploded..." Hilde called and stared at the crumpled body of the man later found out to be the leader of WASP.  
Noin pointed her gun at Hilde as Heero went for Relena.  
"Go ahead," Hilde said coldly.  
Noin stood point blank in front of the seditious soldier ready to fire.  
Heero held Relena when there came another violent blast. Noin stumbled as did Hilde. heero picked Relena up gently, as he took out his COM unit; a message was coming in.  
"....(static)... repeat....(static)... has... (static)..down...(static).. d-... copy..."  
Heero carried Relena a safe distance to a small room and opened communication again. He hated using these things.  
"Come in... This is pilot Zero Four- do you copy? I repeat- Deathscythe has been -shot- down... cannot confirm pilot's stats... -do -you -copy, over..." Heero stared blankly. "Come in... this is..."  
"Copy Zero Four, this is Zero three- I'm on the ground, over..."  
"Confirm... this is Zero Five- I -have- the pilot..-Repeat.. this is Zero Five... I have the pilot, over-"  
Noin came into the room breathing hard. "Their looking... she ran," Noin said in apparent disgust. "Go! I'll stay with her.." she muttered visibly out of breath. "Go, -now-," she yelled holding her side.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Duo remembered waking up in a hospital bed. Heero and Noin were wearing bandages and Relena stood by their sides.  
"Where's Hilde? Is she safe?" He remembered that she was supposed to have left that morning to L5 for refuge.  
Noin stepped away when Relena motioned to move forward. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a trace of a tear on his forehead. "I'm... I'm glad you're ok..." she smiled and took Noin's lead to leave the two men alone.  
Duo could sense that she wanted to say something more but dismissed it as nothing. He stared up at Heero who looked solemn as usual.  
"She's gone, Duo."  
Death swiped Duo's anticipation of seeing her again. He sat up ignoring his pain.  
"What?" He had a vision of WASP targeting the shuttle leaving to L5 and destroying it completely.  
Heero hated telling his best friend of what had happened but he felt that he had no other choice. It would have almost been easier to tell him that Hilde -was- dead.  
As he went into explanation he watched Duo's expressions. "She left Relena's side saying that she -did- her part. He sighed.  
"Are you sure, Heero?"  
"I was there, Duo." He took another breath. "When I took Relena... Noin followed shortly. She had officers looking because Hilde ran."  
To confirm Duo's repetitive denial, Heero flipped on the TV screen. Reports were being broadcasted throughout the world and colonies.  
"... due to the insubordination of a soldier who's main objective was to protect her Excellency..."  
"In further news, military leaders are searching for a member of the Anti-WASP group who walked away from her duties of protecting Queen Relena..."  
"Anyone with further information on the where- abouts of Private Hilde Shcbeiker is authorized to call..."  
  
~~~  
  
No matter what he did, Duo could not tune it out. The memory played and played and replayed in his mind. He'd only been incapacitated for three days- just long enough to be kicked off the earth and refused by the colonies. After that period in his life he never bothered to go searching for her. It was a period he closed off his mind to; a period his heart chose to expel.  
  
~~~  
  
For Heero it was more than that. The emotion had run high that day. When he told Duo about everything that had gone on it was the first time- and the -only- time- that he saw his best friend cry. Deep down in his own heart, he too wanted to cry at the frustration and guilt he felt. Frustration that he didn't stay with Relena. -He- was supposed to protect her. She should never have ended up staring into the barrel of -any- kind of gun. And later, guilt that by her words all soldiers and civilians who fought alike were dismissed from the earth. Dismissed without honor from the world as they knew it. His battle then became not with the world or government affiliates or even with fellow soldiers or civilians- it was now with Her Excellency, the Queen/Princess of all Pacifism; the love of his life... Relena Peacecraft. But that was so long ago. Nothing mattered anymore. Now, he had the love of his life at his side and was going to see to it that she remained there permanently.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
Five days had passed. Relena sat in the study. Tears fell and fell and fell and regardless of what she did, she could not stop crying.  
"Mr. Trowa to see you ma'am."  
Relena took several tissues from the box and wiped her face. She could hear Trowa's voice, he was asking the maid for another box.  
"This will be the fourth one, today," she mentioned with great concern and much shock.   
He entered the room, stopping shy of her desk.  
"Relena?" He put the box down.  
"Why are you crying?" He tried hard to show some kind of concern in his voice but it didn't work.  
Relena knew that he was not sensitive in the same way the others were. He had a uniqueness about him- a silence that was all the emotion he needed.  
"Oh Trowa..." she stood up and walked to the window.  
He didn't know what it was that she was crying about, he understood her sense of loss but at the same time, he didn't understand her concern.  
"He'll be back, Relena."  
She sighed but still the tears fell.  
"Trowa... do you know where he is?"  
He chuckled to himself. Everyone seemed to be asking that question of him.  
"No. But I do know that he is still on the rock."  
Relena turned around. Trowa was so sweet and kind. Always looking after her. She held her hand at her mouth trying; trying with so much effort to stop. She looked past him at the door. heero stood there silently, with such strength and power.  
"Did you find him?"  
He shook his head as Trowa turned around.  
Duo had left Sally's after she removed the stitches and had disappeared. No one had heard form him. The chief at the Miner's plant had called saying he hadn't shown up for two days in a row and inquired if strategic missions were going on. They -had- been going on for quite some time but none of them had been involved. It was not like Duo to disappear. Not like him at all to let the hurt show through. -Perhaps that's why he left, Relena thought.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Later that afternoon, Relena sat with Heero out on his balcony with the rest of the crew-minus Duo. Each one tried, in their own way, to justify their own ideas about the situation.  
  
"Duo doesn't -need- this kind of stress! Not after the letters, Quatre at gunpoint," she saw Quatre flinch slightly, "... his face!"  
Trowa rolled his eyes and stared at Relena, irritated at her persistence.  
"Relena," Heero called sternly, "give it a rest."  
Sally sat on the wicker chair with her feet up while Wufei stood behind her silently watching the scene; observing.  
"Why do you think she showed up?"  
All eyes were on Quatre now. He shied away from his question, suddenly not caring about the answer.  
"Who knows," Trowa sighed.  
"And -who- cares," Relena spoke in a spiteful tone.  
"That's -it!" Heero announced. He stood up rudely and glared at Relena. "You--," he snapped motioning for her to go inside.  
"Heero... don't," Quatre interjected.  
"Shut up, Quatre," Heero flared.  
Relena stood up in obedience, ignoring the eyes on her.  
"Heero..."  
Heero and Wufei turned sharply to Sally. She was silenced by the both of them; Heero's heartless glare and Wufei's strong look of disapproval of her jumping in. Heero grabbed Relena's arm and pulled her inside. As they disappeared the others stared silently, back and forth at each other.  
  
~~~  
  
They had gone to Heero's room. He shut the door and stared at Relena.  
"What the hell is this about," Heero yelled at her. "You are -not- a spoiled child, Relena! -What's- the deal?"  
Relena turned away from him to look out the window.  
"Don't Relena... please don't turn away from me."  
She turned around to face him. His eyes were sad as he stared at her. "Heero... she was ordered to protect me and she -walked- away!"  
Heero thought back to Quatre's words... "If she hasn't dealt with Hilde's actions properly.."  
"You weren't there the whole time," Relena said.  
He remembered walking around the corner and hearing Relena's voice trembling, "Please..." she had cried. "Tell me, Relena."  
"No," she cried softly. "Please, Heero..." she looked up at him, tears in her eyes. At the time after the battle ended and the banishment, she had so much guilt that she gave the orders for the banishment even after the incident with Hilde and the attempted kidnapping. A guilt that she suppressed until now.  
"Please love..."  
"Heero... I can't," she cried.  
Heero walked over to her and held her close to him.  
"Relena... I love you. I don't want to see you like this -or- the way I have seen you act toward that girl!"  
"Heero..." tears flowing freely still, "I'm sorry... I... I ..."  
He quieted her lovingly.  
"Shhh... it's ok..." he soothed.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Lucrezia sighed. Her facial expressions gave away her annoyance.  
"Guys... it's not for me to say!" She studied their faces slowly as she looked at each one of them.  
"But you were there," Quatre insisted.  
"Do you think this is something I -or- Miss Relena want to remember?" She felt sick.  
Her memories flashed bits and pieces in her mind.  
--She knew that Heero was already in the building when she heard gunfire. She pulled into a room and locked her gun on her target. There were two of them.  
"Drop your gun," she yelled but neither budged. Instead, she had a gun to her own head.  
Her gun was being pulled from her hands. As she scolded herself there came sudden open fire that took out one of the other men giving her the opportunity to take back her weapon. As she did so, her gun went off killing the man instantly. Immediately, she turned her gun on the man who still stared with his gun locked on Relena. But now there was someone else; someone else who was not Heero.--  
"How did Hilde get involved?" Trowa asked straight faced as he looked up at Lucrezia.  
"Hadn't Duo said she rebelled and was going to L5," Quatre asked.  
"The truth?"  
Trowa looked up at her. "Why not?"  
Lucrezia sighed deeply. She opened her mouth to speak.   
"I'll tell them, Luc."  
They turned around to see a puffy-eyed, tear streaked face. Heero held Relena's hand.  
"Miss Relena... no..."  
Quatre took Heero's glance and stilled Lucrezia. Wufei cleared his throat and Sally stood up offering her seat to Relena, herself taking residence in front of Wufei, wrapped in his arms.  
Relena's voice trembled as she began.  
  
"I had just gotten word that all five Gundams had been taken out and were now in battle." She paused, absentmindedly searching for Heero's hand. When she found it, she continued. "No sooner had the news come when there came a violent outbreak in the offices down the hall from mine..."  
She could still hear the voices of the men... -"Find the Queen..."-  
"They broke down my door... I didn't know what to do..." she remembered the bullets whistling past her window. War was every where; the yelling outside, violent destruction happening just outside her window; there was no stopping what had begun.  
"One of the men came at me, grabbing my arm..." she could feel Heero's grip getting slightly tighter. "They took me out of there and hurled me down the corridor." She glanced at Heero. "I think they were planning to take me away but they didn't plan on the Wing Zero... anyway... Hilde showed up out of nowhere- in alliance uniform- and held a gun to one of the men. She told him to let me go."  
She was reluctant to go on exposing what happened next.. She had managed to keep it quiet all this time and only because she didn't expect to see Hilde again. She took a breath and steadied her voice.  
"The man told her that it didn't concern her and to take her post.  
"-What?" Trowa and Heero looked up in unison declaring their outrage.  
"She left me there and did what she was told. That's when they saw Wing Zero and took me back in and then seconds later, Hilde showed up again and shot the man she had confronted earlier. Then I saw Lucrezia and she had a gun to her head but when Hilde came in Lucrezia was fighting and then another shot was fired." The visions were so clear to her. "Hilde had shot the other man, leaving the one and I'll -never- forget what she said to me..." she paused briefly, "... she said... 'I can't have them doing my job, now, can I?' Those were her words exactly."  
Nobody knew about this, not even Lucrezia who had been the closest on the scene.  
"When she held her gun to the man, it wasn't to protect me, it was to protect herself." Relena felt anger burning inside. "She wasn't expecting you, Heero--"  
"That's why she came back yelling that the base had exploded!" Lucrezia's realization became clear to the others.  
"She walked away from me twice," Relena declared. "I -begged- her to please help me- she was in Federation uniform- her orders were from the alliance..." she was crying now.  
Heero reached up to hold her. Now he understood why she had been crying so much about Duo's disappearance. -Perhaps it was because of that reason that she was so able to eliminate the soldiers from the earth. It was possible, he thought as he thought about her confession of guilt at Duo's absence.  
"I wanted to tell him..." she said wiping her tears, trying to take control of herself.  
"So you're saying that she was working for -them-?" Wufei glared at the thought.  
"I'm saying that it -appeared- to be that way."  
"Hilde left the alliance- her vows to the Federation- to work for WASP?" Sally's eyes were quiet but questioning.  
"That's why she wanted refuge from L5," Trowa said, "She was afraid that they would find out."  
It had only been a short while before the WASP that she'd been stealing information from Libra.  
"Damn her," Wufei griped.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
END PART I  
  
  
7.  
MEASURES OF THE HEART  
PART II: COMING BACK  
  
"I thought I would be alone here."  
Duo stared out over the ravine. A chasm much like the Grand Canyon of earth. He refused to turn around. His heart was in pain.  
"I guess I am."  
There was silence once again. But not as it had been. It had been disturbed and now spun around him in a mock sense.  
"Duo..."  
"Leave, Hilde... you're good at that."  
Duo stood up and walked away. Hilde caught a glimpse of what she had done to his face. A small scab lined the flesh just below his eye. It had been fourteen days since she saw him last.  
"Duo..." she called after him.  
"-WHAT, Hilde?" He turned around with such force that Hilde stumbled backwards. "What do you want from me," he shouted.  
Hilde began to cry. -She- had caused him this pain.  
"Duo... I... I'm sorry," she said.  
Duo had begun walking away from her. He didn't want to be -near- her. If he'd stayed at the mansion, the others would be there for him, to protect him. He guffawed sourly. -Protect me? Yeah, he grunted and continued walking.  
"Duo--" she cried out.  
"Go home, Hilde."  
"Duo... please..." she ran after him, catching up. She touched his back. "Please..."  
He pushed her hand off not wanting anything to do with her, feeling guilty that he no longer felt anything for her. He turned to face her.  
"What Hilde? Do you want me to forgive you? Fine! You're forgiven! Do you want me to tell you that it will be ok? It's ok, Hilde!" He stared into her eyes. "What the hell do you want from me?"  
She stared at him and without fear or warning she stepped up and kissed him. He pushed her away, disgusted and walked on.  
"Go home, Hilde."  
-I can't, she cried reflecting on her actions only days prior to this moment. He disappeared down the path.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Heero sat at his desk, angered, upset; almost depressed. A piece of paper looked up at him by the soft glow of the desk lamp. The room was dark accept for the small brilliance of light.  
"Love," he heard.  
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  
"Yes, sweetness," he answered.  
Relena walked over to him softly, quietly. She'd been taking things hard lately and showed it by her choice of dress. Jeans and a tee shirt were more Heero's or Duo's style- or Trowa's. But to Heero, she looked much better than the other two did in the ensemble.  
She walked behind him and leaned on him, wrapping her arms around him. "You have been in here for so long."  
He pushed the paper away allowing it to fold closed on its own. Relena didn't ask about any of his work as he didn't ask about hers.  
He grabbed her arm and gently pulled her around the chair. He let her settle herself on the edge of the desk. She looked down into his beautiful eyes. He stared up at her. She had finally stopped crying after six days. Duo meant a lot to her. He didn't understand how he could hold so much hostility toward Trowa for spending half a night with her and only concern when she cried for five days over Duo. Even after his revelation of her guilt concerning Hilde, it still puzzled him.  
Neither of them paid attention to the silence, they simply stared at each other- enjoying the presence of the other. Heero stood up and stepped up to her. The beauty she radiated saturated his very being. He took her into his arms and kissed her passionately.  
She loved when he took hold of her like that. At this moment she would have given him access to anything he wanted.  
He kissed her neck and her ear, then her chin and her lips again. He looked into her eyes.  
"I love you, Princess."  
Relena smiled. "Forever?"  
"Infinity," he smiled back.  
She giggled at his words to her before he kissed her again. She accepted his lips on hers, invited teasingly his tongue into her mouth, and writhed at the touch of his hands on her body.  
-Is this it, she wondered.  
"Ahem... you guys should really get a room."  
-Damn, he thought.  
They both turned around. Duo's silhouette filled the doorway. Relena's eyes filled with joy and tears once more. She jumped off the desk and out of Heero's arms and ran to Duo. She hugged him and he her. She stayed in his arms briefly trying to submerge the thought of breaking down and telling him everything. She stepped away from him.  
*SMACK*  
Duo's head turned with the slap he had just received. Heero rushed over to them as Duo put his hand on his cheek to stop the sting.  
"-Don't -EVER- do that to me -again-, Duo Maxwell!"  
She stared into his eyes joyfully saddened, he wiped her tears and looked up at Heero.  
"Welcome back," Heero said.  
Duo looked back at Relena who was holding his hand now and smiled at her.  
-That slap in the face was what I really needed. "Thanks."  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
It had been four days since Duo came back. He had often times found himself sitting out on the balcony- most of the time with Trowa. This day was no different. They sat, silent staring out into the wild.   
Trowa staring at the far off waters as he had always done and Duo staring at the far off nothing of the rock. He had reflected on Relena's word to him.  
--"Duo... I couldn't have told you! I couldn't bare to see you like that..."  
"So you waited until six and a half years? Why don't you just kill me now with a spoon?"--  
He had been a little harsh on her. But at least she told him of everything. He remembered telling Hilde how good she was at leaving, he had no idea.  
His heart had broken once and when he thought nothing could cause more pain than the time it took to heal, it happened again. She came back into his life wanting something that he could no longer give. It had been nine days since his disappearance and even though he returned, seeming to be his usual "happy-go-lucky" self, he was still hurt by all the actions that had taken place in the last four or five months. Letters, his friends' endangerment, Hilde slashing his face which had now healed completely, leaving only a tiny scar resembling a tear at the corner of his eye; and now Relena telling him about the truth of the situation concerning her hostage situation.  
He couldn't seem to come out of this state of depression.  
"Duo--" Trowa said almost urgently. He stood up and abruptly darted past him. Duo stood up to follow. "Stay there," Trowa demanded.  
Duo felt that he would have if Trowa had not pulled his gun. Non-compliant to Trowa's warnings, he strode to the railing of the stairs and peered down.  
"What are you doing here?"  
Trowa stood not five inches from Hilde with his gun pointed point blank at her. Duo didn't know whether to stop the interaction between the two or to walk away. He began to head for the stairs but stopped as there came a screaming rampage from across the front room.  
"Schbeiker!! Oh my goodness! What are you doing here...." Seita took notice of Trowa's gun. "M...Mis... Mister... Trowa... why do you have a gun to her head..."  
Trowa locked the trigger still staring at Hilde. Lucrezia, Quatre and Heero came out of their hiding at the sound of the risen commotion.  
Heero walked calmly to the point of the scene. Everything would be under control soon enough, thought Duo. Heero motioned for Trowa to lower his gun. Duo could see that Trowa was refusing.  
-He's such the keeper, Duo declared softly of his friend.  
"What do you want, Hilde." Heero's question was harsh.  
"I just want to see Duo," she said softly.  
Everything seemed so far away. The voices traveled up to him as though they were from a dream.  
"And -what- makes you think that -he -wants -to -see -You?"  
Lucrezia made her way up to the group, also baring her gun. Seita stared, bewildered at what was going on. She made her way -back- to Quatre, nudging her way beside him, in hopes that he would take some kind of notice to her.  
"Wha.... what's going on," she asked, clearly uninformed of the whole situation. Quatre simply stared, ignoring her question to him.  
"I... I just want to talk to him," Hilde answered.  
"After what you did?" Lucrezia's anger was clear. She lowered her gun as she stepped up and circled the terror-stricken young woman in front of her.  
"Careful, Noin--" Heero seared.  
"Do you -think- you can just walk up in here after the -last- time you were here?"  
"Last time," Seita questioned.  
"Never mind," Quatre hushed her quickly and left her side.  
"Please, Lieutenant..."  
"That's 'Captain' to -You-, Private."  
Hilde's eyes widened at her former superior's voice. -She's pulling 'rank' on me?   
"Trowa," Lucrezia said staring into Hilde's dark eyes. "Does Duo even -want- to see her?"  
"If he -wanted- to I'm -sure- he'd been down here... wouldn't you agree, Noin?"  
-Such the keeper.  
Hilde began to cry at their harshness toward her. It would be more so if they found out that she had no intention of leaving the rock on her own.  
"Let's go," Trowa motioned with his gun for her to leave. Lucrezia added her sentiment of it as well.  
"Or I -will- arrest you," she said.  
"But Captain... you can't..." Seita came running to Hilde's rescue being stopped unexpectedly by Heero's hand on her arm.  
"Step back Bare' or you'll be joining her," Lucrezia scolded.  
Seita looked at the others and watched Trowa and her commanding officer walk Hilde out at gunpoint. She didn't understand.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Duo sat back on the lounge chair and closed his eyes. Memories flooded back but quickly were recaptured and hidden away. He opened his eyes once more. The sun had already left the sky. He had fallen asleep.  
"Duo..."  
He looked up, adjusting his eyes to the darkness.  
"Duo, you can't keep going on like this. You keep hiding your feelings and soon you're gonna break!"  
The soft words of his friend. Quatre was always so caring and kind.  
Duo sighed deeply.  
"Have you experienced anything like this before?"  
He suddenly recalled Dorothy and smacked his forehead wanting nothing more than to kick himself in the head instead.  
"Come on, Duo."  
"Well, it's different for you! You haven't been confronted with her the way I have with Hilde."  
He hadn't "seen" her in the girls he met lately as he had once done. Now everyone was Hilde.  
"Duo... do you think you're the only one suffering because of her arrival?"  
Quatre had never, in all the time they'd known each other, been so irate about a situation. Then Duo kicked himself again in his imagination when he remembered the death of Quatre's father.  
"It's not that..."  
"No, Duo... it -is-! You think that you are the only one who feels the repercussion of Hilde's return, well I'll tell you one thing! There are two people inside who feel it a LOT more than you do and you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get on with living!"  
Duo's eyes filled with shock at Quatre's intense expression of distress.  
"Miss Relena went through a LOT when you left and you owe her an apology--  
Duo stood up flabbergasted at Quatre.  
"Hey! I -Did- apologize to her..."  
"Shut- up, Duo! That's -not- what I'm talking about! Her guilt was because she could not tell   
-YOU- that Hilde walked away from her, not -once- but -Twice!" Quatre stood, hands on hips, reprimanding Duo. "Do you think this has been easy for her? Do you think it was easy for her to tell us what happened and to keep her -calm- the last time she saw Hilde? Do you  
-think- that you could give her a -Little- respect and -snap out of your 'poor me' routine for just a little while?-"  
Duo didn't know what to say. He searched and asked the only question that came to mind. "Is Lucrezia just as disturbed as you claim Relena to be?"  
Quatre stared at Duo. His anger was now confusion. "-What?"  
Duo's mischievous little grin dared itself to cross his face but Quatre didn't seem ready to smile.  
"Duo... go talk to Relena and Lucrezia. Go and tell them... talk to them about how you feel! Let them know that their suffering is not in vain." Quatre left.  
  
~~~  
  
Duo spent the rest of the evening with Relena and Heero as Lucrezia was on duty. They were in the sitting room, near the exit to the veranda. They had discussed the circumstances about all that had happened between then and now.  
"Duo... nobody expects you to be -ok- with Hilde's showing up."  
Duo looked up at Heero. "I just can't understand why..."  
"Duo, don't," Relena said. "Don't -try- to understand her actions. I realized that that was my problem when I gave orders to..." she didn't finish her thought.  
"Relena, you were doing your -job-," Duo said in conclusion to her thought.  
"I -thought- that if something like that could happen so easily..."  
Heero held her as she stopped herself from crying.  
The room was grim. The three sat silently for countless minutes that seemed to be hours.  
"Relena... I'm sorry I caused you so much grief... and you too, Heero."  
Heero said nothing. Relena looked up at him with warm, sincere eyes.  
"It's ok," she replied, "You've already been warned," she smiled pointing at her sword.  
"Oh, no," Heero and Duo replied together.   
Relena laughed.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
END PART II  
  
  
8.  
WHEN TIME COMES  
  
Hilde walked along the shore of the dark waters. Her options left her clueless. -What options?- Leaving L5 was the worst thing she'd ever done to herself. "No," she said out loud, "coming -here- was!" At one point she thought it would have been better to retreat back to the earth but she knew they'd find her there. They'd find her eventually no matter where she was.  
  
~~~  
  
She heard someone screaming orders at her, a man barking down at her to complete her mission came to mind. An explosion, a crash...  
  
~~~  
  
She shook her head at the memory. It seemed to her that the days were clashing together leaving her unsure of the time that had passed.  
"Schbeiker--"  
She looked up ready to run.  
"Hilde, it's me!"  
A figure of a young woman came running down a flight of stairs at her.  
"Seita?"  
Seita came running up.  
"Schbeiker... Hilde... it's me!"  
Hilde sighed relief and then cautiously looked around. "Seita...please... call me Hilde- we're not co-workers anymore!"  
Seita stared confused. "But..."  
"Hilde, Seita. That's my name."  
The two walked on in silence for a time.  
"When you left the other day..." she silently reproached herself for her choice of words. "Uh... I didn't think I'd see you again."  
Hilde said nothing for a brief moment.  
"Yeah well... I'm beginning to think that Repudiation is not my cup of tea, anyway..."  
Seita stopped and looked at Hilde with questioning eyes. Hilde continued on.  
"Hilde... what's going on?"  
Hilde stared off into the distance of the waters and came to a complete halt. How could Seita not know? She'd been with Noin this whole time.  
"What do you mean," she finally turned back around.  
Seita held Hilde's words in silence.  
"You've changed," Seita pointed out much concerned.  
"What?" Hilde smiled trying to seem sincere. "I have not," she kidded.  
Seita narrowed her eyes at Hilde. How did she ever befriend this woman? They met when after Seita's graduation as a cadet; Hilde came from L5 after the battle of the WASP was over. She wasn't on L4 long but when she left she managed to keep in touch.  
"Seita?"  
Hilde stared at the young girl. She remembered being fifteen. It was a painful memory but not as painful as the one Seita was trying to wrench out into the open.  
"Hilde... why did Mr. Trowa hold a gun to you and why would Captain Noin want to arrest you?"  
-Oh, that.  
"Sometimes, Seita... things happen and some people just don't know how to let go so they continually hold a grudge."  
Seita suddenly put two and two together.  
"Is that why you hit Mr. Duo?"  
Hilde gasped at the unanticipated remark.  
"Wh-at? Did he..."  
Seita suddenly felt a shutter building inside. Her unbelieving eyes focussed in on her would-be friend.  
"No... I saw the hash," she answered unchanged with her reaction.  
"Seita..." Hilde paused. For a lack of anything useful to say, she turned away.  
"Hilde- just tell me!-"  
How could she? Where would she begin?  
"Something changed in you!"  
Seita's fury was no longer veiled. Hilde tried hard to visualize what to say. Words failed her.  
"A -lot- has changed, Seita. I'm surprised -Miss Noin- didn't tell you."  
Seita became skeptical at Hilde's words.  
"Hilde... you used to be so nice. Why are you so venom on Captain Noin?"  
"Did she ever tell you I used to work under her authority?"  
Seita stepped back from Hilde. Could it be true? She thought back to the last time that she saw Hilde at the mansion.  
--"Lieutenant..."  
"That's 'Captain' to you..."--  
"She mentioned it," Seita lied.  
"Well then... what's the problem?"  
Hilde's glare at Seita was frightening.  
"Hilde... I don't understand..." she almost wanted to cry.  
"Walk with me, Seita," Hilde's voice became softer, more tranquil.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
A young officer stepped in front of the desk that a younger corporal occupied. The young man was reading some training manuals, obviously studying for a promotion.  
"Ahem," the officer announced his presence.  
The corporal immediately looked up and jumped out of his seat almost falling over with his toppled chair. His hand went up in complete salute at the officer before him.  
"Yes, Sir- so sorry, Sir... how can I help you, Sir?"  
The officer had to quench his need to laugh at the memories the young man brought back.  
"Quince? Is that you?"  
Lucrezia stared surprised at the young man in front of her. She saluted his uniform, eyeing him curiously. "Colonel? Wow!" She offered her hand to him, "Congratulations!"  
He smiled bashfully back at her.  
"Yeah," he blushed.  
"So what's up," she motioned for him to follow back to her office. When his blushing subsided, his features were dark.  
"Noin..." he stated sedately.  
"I take it this isn't a social visit. No 'I'm here to rub it in that I'm a Colonel,' huh?"  
Quince stared quietly at her. "I wish for nothing more..."  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Heero, Trowa and Quatre stared captivated by the reports coming in over the screens.  
Duo walked in, shortly followed by Relena moments later, neither having heard the news yet.  
"What's--"  
Heero put his hand up immediately to silence Relena.  
The scenes unfolded in front of them.  
  
~~~  
  
"All five perpetrators were apprehended at the scene of the warehouse only moments ago. Officials declare that they -don't- know what the five young men were doing there but have stated that they intend to find out..."  
  
The giant warehouse that sheltered the five Gundam Mobil suits had been broken into. They watched Howard in an outrage, fussing that it was private property and he held nothing of illegal substance there. Nobody knew that the Mobil suits had been left on L2.   
Heero thought back to the letter he received a week ago.  
  
"In still other new, the death of General Antonio Marinova has been confirmed. A search team gave up only hours before a pedestrian on the outskirts of the Hitan Forest found the General's body. The search and rescue team had been searching the areas surrounding the forest since Marinova's plane went down thirteen days ago...."  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Lucrezia felt tears swelling in her eyes. Her heart became a heavy sack of emptiness at the news she had just received from her friend and superior officer.  
"But Colonel..." her voice quavered. She leaned on her desk. "How? I don't understand... whey they didn't find his body... are you sure that that is who they saw?"  
Quince walked around the desk and helped her sit down.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Hilde and Seita walked for a distance of about a half-mile before they found a suitable place to talk. The clouds were dark, appearing almost as if it would rain. Hilde could not get over how much this "rock" was like earth. It could have been a twin planet.  
"Seita... over the past year and a half, I've done some things that have been... um," she scratched her chin, "well...destructive to my character." She paused studying the young Seita.  
"Like--?"  
Hilde took a deep breath.  
"Well... for starters... in the battle for earth,"  
"WASP?"  
Hilde nodded, continuing on her train of thought. "'I left the Federation to work for WASP." She paused momentarily before justifying herself. "They offered me more than the Federation did and though it was that I took it, I am not proud of it." Seita sighed, Hilde went on. "I managed to keep this from Duo and the others... even the Federation didn't know so the alliance sent information to make me active duty... I was tired of fighting and I'd hurt Duo so much already," she stood up and invited Seita to walk some more with her.  
"L5 was offering refuge and after my confrontation with Duo..."  
--"Were' talking about her Excellency's protection here..."--  
"Duo had been angered by my wanting to leave... I felt so guilty so I went -back- to the alliance and accepted orders..."  
"Hilde, you -Can't- serve two masters! -Love one, hate the other-!"  
Hilde glared at Seita's outburst.  
"I -Know- that, Seita. That's why I walked away."  
Seita remembered Hilde's face on the media. -SHE- was the insubordinate soldier.  
"I served my purpose as a decoy but not as a protector-- on L5 no one could touch me because of the rights of asylum."  
That was true enough.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Lucrezia stood in front of the group. An aura of pain surrounded her usually jovial features. Her uniform displayed the nature of her visit.  
"Captain Noin," Heero addressed her accordingly.  
The others stared at her curiously. News of Marinova's death was everywhere. All could see that she was not in the least bit excited about being there.  
"Quatre, I have to find Bare'."  
  
Quatre stared, wide eyed at the officer in front of him.  
-Bare? Why is she calling Seita by that name?  
Lucrezia knew Quatre would know because the girl never went anywhere without informing him, undoubtedly in hopes that he'd follow.  
"She mentioned the waters."  
"Thank you, I must be on my way." She turned around to face the newly arrived Colonel.  
"That won't be necessary, Captain," he said signing off her salute. "At ease," he said softly. "They've found her- you come with me."  
Lucrezia eyed the others -almost- in fear before leaving without saying goodbye.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Both girls walked along the waters in silence until they came to a small beachfront cafe.  
Inside they sat at a small table; Seita adjusting the fold of the napkin in front of her, Hilde holding a glass of juice.  
"So why did you come here, Hilde?"  
Hilde sighed. Here, the one place she should avoid due to all military activity going on. It didn't matter---  
"Because I had no where else to go." -They'll find me regardless.  
As to confirm her inner thought, the place suddenly became intruded by Federation troops.  
"There," a voice called roughly.  
Hilde sat back calmly as though she expected no other reason for their being there. Five guns were instantly pointed at the two of them.  
Seita became slightly frantic, wanting to run away but thoughts of Quatre seeing her run persuaded her otherwise. She suddenly became as calm as Hilde was.  
"Place your weapons -slowly- on the table.  
Neither girl moved.  
"-NOW-"  
Hilde slowly reached behind her and pulled her gun out and put it on the table. Seita was reluctant. If Captain Noin found out that she had an unauthorized, -unissued- gun (to say the least) on her, there would be great trouble for her.  
A trigger suddenly locked into place. Seita moved to remove her gun, staring at Hilde as they made her stand up and arrested her. Seconds later they were doing the same to her. Noin was definitely going to hear of this. Seita sighed.  
"The girl is innocent," Hilde scowled at the man who was taking Seita into custody.  
"-I'll- be the judge of that," he snarled back.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
Heero stared again at the paper on his desk. Should he tell the others? He didn't know what it meant. And then there was Duo's seven sheets of paper.  
All of this situation was frustrating him greatly. The headaches and lost sleep were sending him into a mad frenzy. The others watched him gradually digress into "sedate soldier" as he had been during Oz, White Fang and WASP. His ever-present mission was to protect Relena but from what he could tell, she was not targeted.  
As he sat quietly the phone rang. He turned on the screen to see Lucrezia staring back.  
"Captain?"  
She stared at him in a manner that was not her own.  
"Mr. Yuy, I need you to bring Miss Peacecraft down here to Gate One Twelve."  
The screen went blank before he could respond.  
-Mr. Yuy? What?  
He stood up. Whatever it was it must have been important enough for her to make such a formal address. It could have been, too, that it was just because of her surroundings.  
  
~~~  
  
Duo paced the room. It had been two hours since the announcements had come through.  
Trowa couldn't think what to make of it, Quatre sighed and kept adjusting in his seat; he couldn't seem to get comfortable.  
"Where the -Hell- is Heero," Wufei asked; his anger fuming.  
"Ahem... I have to take Relena to the base. Noin called- sounded urgent."  
Quatre stood up as the others turned around to see Heero in the doorway.  
"How urgent," he asked implying the use of her name.  
"Enough for me to be 'Mr. Yuy'."  
Quatre sat back down, disturbed.  
Duo rubbed the back of his neck in obvious frustration. Trowa still did not move from his position by the window.  
"Damn it!" Wufei shouted as he punched the chair beside him. "The warehouse was broken into, Heero! Don't you even -care- that the Gundams might have been found?"  
Heero's eyes were unchanged. They still revealed nothing of his feelings. "I have faith in Howard. He'll call when it's safe."  
With those words he took his leave for Relena.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
"What the -hell- were you doing?" Seita stared at Hilde from her tiny cell across the way from Hilde's.   
"Something that will follow me the rest of my days until I die."  
-DUH! "There is something -really- STUPID about someone who can't stop at being a   
-traitor- to her people but has to go and do something worse!"  
Hilde pouted in her own cell trying to ignore Seita's frustration. Seita walked to the bars and held them. "Guard!" she yelled without expectation that he'd hear her or even answer.  
"Wadiya want," he growled back.  
"I want to see my superior officer," she replied softly not knowing why she bothered in the first place.  
The guard came in and stared at her with a smirk. Then he laughed rudely, turned to Hilde and began to walk away after shooting her a look of pure hate and disgust.  
"I'm still waiting to see Relena Peacecraft," she yelled.  
The man stopped laughing and turned sharply to her. Hilde looked up form her speck on the floor.  
"Re... Relena... why?" Hilde asked as the guard walked out of the room She had been unaware of Seita's earlier request.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
"Heero, didn't she say anything about this at all?"  
His features were bleak. It had been slightly less than a week since he'd started acting like the soldier she had first met during Oz. The silence, solitude and empty- mainly one-sided, conversations were all a part of his characteristics as a soldier. He once again had taken them up ever so gradually; Relena pinpointed it to the last of Hilde's visits.  
"No, Relena." He sighed annoyed at her constant interrogation.  
Moments later they arrived at the indicated gate and were met by Colonel Quince, Captain Noin and an unranked sentry. As Heero got out of the vehicle, the young soldier opened Relena's door. Heero stepped up to Lucrezia.  
"I have business to take care of..."  
She recalled the news flash of the broken-into warehouse.  
"I will see that she gets safely home."  
Heero dipped his head at her and walked around to the drivers seat of the hummer. Relena caught his attention; fear had penetrated her eyes. He watched as she disappeared behind a heavy metal door and then drove off.  
Time -was- passing quickly and Howard had not yet called. Luckily the only thing that had been found were old Taurus and Aries suits used for repairing worn out Mobil suits.  
-Who knows that they are there? In silence of his inner thought, he continued on.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Seita sat on the bench leaning over on her knees. Hilde had been trying to talk to her but she wouldn't answer. She was unsure, but knew that they had been in this place for at least three hours.  
-No Hilde. I'm here because of you! She chided herself being as that the gun did not help her, either.  
  
~~~  
  
Relena followed Lucrezia and the Colonel. When they entered the designated area, the Colonel left them alone.  
"I can't talk to her, Relena."  
Relena was puzzled. When Heero said it sounded urgent she expected somehow a surprise visit from Zechs or something worse! "So you brought -me- to talk to her?"  
Lucrezia laughed sarcastically.  
"She -asked- for you! Twice! And not only that but she asked for 'her Superior Officer'!"  
Relena stared at Lucrezia surprised.  
"Her... superior... officer?"  
Lucrezia rolled her eyes.  
"Well... she's in enough trouble with me as it is! -I- am her commanding officer- her little butt belongs to -Me-! But this," Lucrezia waved her arm in the air demonstrating the base or the military. Relena was unsure which, "she has enough to do without opening her mouth and spitting out such things as that! And don't take this personally, Miss Relena," she walked around the table, "but she does not need to be claiming -you- as her S.O.!"  
"I quite agree," Relena added.  
"There is... one more thing."  
Relena walked to the door and looked out the small window and then turned to face the troubled woman. At a moment earlier in the conversation she thought to ask -why- Seita had been arrested. Her better judgement reminded her that as she didn't inquire about Heero's work, she could not inquire about the military's much less hers. She chose not to.  
"What's that?"  
Lucrezia sighed.  
"She was arrested with Hilde." Relena almost choked on her breath. "And Hilde is going to trial..." she stopped herself. They would know soon enough what the charges were.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Heero and Trowa sat silently in the presence of the others. Wufei cleaned his blade because it was the only thing he could think to do with patience.  
"Damn," he yelled.  
The others looked up at him. He quickly wrapped his hand with a clean blade cloth while no one else moved.  
"We can't just sit here like this," Quatre finally broke in.  
"What do ya suggest we do, Quatre? Call Howard ourselves?"  
Duo's eyes were hard and icy. Quatre speculated that Duo had been hanging around with Heero too much; he was picking up Heero's notion of 'kill with the eyes'.  
"That's enough," Heero interjected. He sat at his desk rolling a pencil on the surface, half leaning back in his chair.  
"Well, well, well! Look who's talking now! You're one to speak, Heero! You've been cool and calm these last few hours."  
He looked up at Duo and fiercely stood up. Walking around the desk, he stood in font of Duo.  
"Do you have a problem?"  
Duo pushed Heero out of his personal space.  
"Ya know... maybe -I -do!"  
Trowa stood up and stared at the two.  
"Knock it off, already!"  
"Yeah," Wufei interrupted. "Try fighting over something -useful- for a change." He removed the bloody wrap from his hand and shook it out. The bleeding had stopped. "This is not the time to be the weak link," he retorted.  
Duo and Heero still glared at each other, inches apart. Neither backed off.  
"Well," Duo provoked.  
"That's -enough--" Wufei charged at them, grabbing Duo by the collar. "Make yourself -useful- and Shut the hell up!" Duo now stared into Wufei's dark eyes. Anger raged in his own. "Fighting each other is not going to get things moving any faster!"  
Duo broke away from Wufei's hold, Heero turned away rubbing his mouth. The tension was building. How long would it last?  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Four hours after the arrest Seita was led into a room and left alone. Seconds later a knock came on the door. As it opened a young woman walked in, her face consumed with great concern.  
"Ma'am," the man nodded and left Relena alone with Seita.  
"What's this about," she asked gently.  
Seita looked shyly up at Relena trying hard to not give away her embarrassment.  
"Superior Officer?" Relena inquired in the hopes that she would say something.  
"Miss Relena... that's -not- what I meant! I wanted to see Captain Noin but..." the gun flashed in her mind, "I think she's a little upset with me."  
-A little? "To say the least," Relena replied.  
"Miss Relena... I was arrested with Hilde..." Relena could not get passed that shock. "What's going to happen to her?"  
Both the young women knew, for the most part, what was inevitable.  
"Seita... I am unaware of her reasons for being here. I am sure that her actions will call for a court-martial but beyond that I cannot tell you."  
Seita was quiet. "But Miss Relena... can't you -do- something? You were the Queen!"  
Relena wanted to do no such thing. There was a moment in time when she put her vision of peace aside and replaced it with a vision of violence toward the girl. A vision that she put into action by rejecting the soldiers from earth. It was a memory she quickly extinguished.  
"Seita... -I- have no jurisdiction here on Repudiation. That was so long ago that I was 'Queen'." She had the sudden need to ponder why, if she had been the queen, they now referred to her -quite often- as 'Princess'. She refocused. "All I am truly aware of is that almost two years ago when she entered into alliance uniform, her orders were to protect me and she chose to walk away." She sighed. "The military has precedence over her latest committed crime- whatever that may be- far more than I have any right to her."  
  
~~~  
  
"We can't hold the young one, Captain. We have to release her back into your custody."  
Lucrezia sighed. At this moment she wanted nothing more than to be freed of Seita as an understudy.  
"Orders from Carter, Ma'am." the young man replied. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away.  
She turned to face Quince.  
"Colonel... when will you be taking..." she forced herself to choke out the words, "Schbeiker?"  
He exhaled heavily. "Day after tomorrow. I have to be back for the burial."  
Lucrezia swallowed her tears and cleared her throat.  
"Yes, Sir."  
She walked away after saluting him and went to the room where they had taken Seita and Relena. With a quick turn of the knob the door opened gently.  
"Miss Relena..." she spoke.  
Relena stood up still eyeing the young girl. She remembered being fifteen and full of unanswered questions. She even recalled the slight taste of animosity she held toward all authority until -she- became authority herself. Lucrezia held the door open for Relena to exit and closed it to talk to her privately.  
"I've arranged for Sally to come for you..."  
"I thought Heero--" she remembered the news flash and shook her head.  
"I have to send her," she motioned with her head, "out. Technically she's not part of the Federation- as I mentioned before, she belongs to me." Relena nodded. "Sally said she'd stay with her, do you mind waiting?"  
Relena shook her head completely understanding.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Heero had left the group. He walked around the city in a state of oblivion.  
"Heero?"  
He came out of his thoughts and looked up. Sally was in her car driving slowly past him before she spotted him and stopped.  
"What?"  
Sally flinched at his rough response.  
"I'm going to get Relena and Seita, do you want to come?"  
He eyed her as though he didn't understand her language.  
"No." He thought for a brief moment. "Do me a favor... keep her with you tonight," he said and continued on his walk.   
Sally thought the request strange but complied and drove on.  
  
~~~  
  
Trowa sat out on the balcony. Too many things were happening. He'd always felt that L2 was unsafe for the Gundams but it didn't matter, everywhere was unsafe for those suits.  
-Why didn't we just bring them here?  
  
Wufei left to his place of meditation. In the small room he kneeled on a rug and stayed in that position, eyes closed for uncounted time.  
  
Duo paced around the study upset at everything. There was nothing he could do. He hated feeling helpless. -This is war, he muttered to himself.  
  
Quatre also left the house and now stood out at the park where he first met up with Heero and then Relena. "What's happening? Why hasn't Howard called?" He walked around hopelessly considering all possibilities. The problem was that there were too many.  
  
~~~  
  
"Damn--"  
"It all--"  
"To Hell--"  
  
Heero, Quatre and Duo all stared in silence at the respective nothing they each looked at in their own spot.  
Heero headed back to the house. Quatre wandered aimlessly still questioning himself and his actions and all that was going on.  
Duo sat down at his desk, then he stood up and then sat back down. He pushed the pages over roughly and then straightened them. He picked up a pencil and put it down. Again and put it down. Finally he picked it up a last time and then threw it at the wall. He stood up and walked to the window.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Sally placed a cup for Relena and poured some tea. She made Seita sit in the study with a trainee's manual at Lucrezia's request. It had now been eight hours since the news had come out and everything seemed to be spinning on an ever-turning wheel.  
"Well, 'Miss Peacecraft'," Sally teased.  
Relena smiled lightly.  
"Superior Officer..." she nodded jokingly. "That's... rather interesting!"  
Relena laughed. "She tried to explain," she defended, "but it -did- sound a little strange!"  
Sally sat down in front of Relena.  
"What do you think about Hilde?"  
Relena stared blankly into her cup.  
"Hmmm... I don't know."  
They were quiet for several minutes; both observing the other, conserving their own thoughts.  
"Heero wants you to stay here, tonight."  
Sally studied Relena's face for any reaction but only to disappointment.  
Relena took a sip of her tea and as if she had not heard Sally's words, looked at her friend with a glimmer of a smile.  
"So how are you and Wufei doing?"  
Sally blinked. -Huh? She was surprised at the question in response to her own question.  
"He hasn't talked to me in two days," she said.  
"Ha! Heero hasn't talked to me -civilly- since Trowa and Lucrezia sent Hilde away at gunpoint!"  
"-What- was that about anyway?"  
Relena thought back to the two days previous to this day. She remembered Heero's words and their conversation with Duo.  
"I guess she went to the house wanting to talk to Duo and Trowa decided that she needed to talk to the barrel of his gun instead." She turned to face Sally. "I really don't know the extent of it, just that -that- was the last time he and I, Heero that is, had a civil conversation."  
  
~~~  
  
Lucrezia arrived at the door of the five young men. She figured Sally wouldn't mind keeping Seita for a while and knew the manuals would keep her out of trouble. Blake opened the door and stood aside for her entrance.  
"I'm looking for Quatre," she said softly as she twiddled her cover in her hands.  
"Master Quatre has not returned yet, Miss Noin. Shall I fetch Master Duo or..." he turned around thinking twice about offering to find Heero.  
"No, thank you," she said and turned to walk away.  
"He's in the park somewhere," Lucrezia heard. She turned around and looked up onto the second floor. Trowa stood there looking down at her. The sadness in his green eyes was apparent and she could only imagine that of which she'd find in the blue depths of Quatre's.  
She managed a small grin before he walked away. She muffled a reproach because she knew that -he- knew that her heart wasn't in it. After thanking Blake, she left.  
  
~~~  
  
Colonel Quince walked solemnly into the small coffee shop. All that was going on was disturbing. It wasn't until he found a seat that he noticed his friend sitting at a table in the corner. She stared out the window with a cup in her hands.   
"Lucrezia," he said softly as he walked up to her table.  
She stood up immediately to salute him but he waved it off.  
"Right now I am not a Colonel," he stated although his uniform declared differently. "I am simply Joshua Quince, Jr." He smiled at her. "May I?"  
She had desperately wanted Quatre to show up and had been hoping for it but since he had not, Quince -no matter what he called himself- would have to do.  
"Sure," she motioned as she returned back to her seated position.  
He regarded her with deep worry and uneasiness. She was not taking the death of her former superior or the arrest of her former cadet well at all.  
"Where's Bare'?"  
She studied the words quietly. "With a friend."  
Silence once again. Lucrezia stared out the window, Joshua at her.  
"You know... Marinova looked at you quite as his own daughter." He wasn't helping and was told so.  
"If you're trying to make me feel better, Quince, it's not working."  
"Lu- it's perfectly ok to have these feelings."  
She eyed him thoughtfully. "I never did like when you called me that... Joshy J"  
He flushed. It was a name mentioned one time in the long ago past but some how she remembered it.  
"That -was- a long time ago, wasn't it?"  
Lucrezia managed to give a small form of a smile.  
"Yeah, it was," she replied.  
"You're smiling," he said.  
Now she flushed.  
  
Quatre strolled out of the park and stared into the coffee shop window. Lucrezia looked... happy. He then diverted his eyes to the person sitting opposite her.  
"Colonel Quince," he repeated the man's name abrasively. "Makes sense," he stated dryly and walked on unnoticed.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
A day and a half later, Relena walked down the hill to the "Men's place." That was the name she and Sally had thought up the other night, laughing over their cups of tea. She knocked, no one answered. Again and Weidam opened the door.  
"Miss Relena!" His eyes brightened at the sight of her. She was the first ray of sunshine he'd seen in days.  
"Is Heero here?"  
"Um..." Weidam looked behind him and turned back to her with a worried look on his face. "He's not really taking visitors right now..." he said hastily.  
-Visitors?  
"It's ok, Weidam." Heero's voice was still cold.  
"Yes, Sir." He stepped aside to let her in and then left them alone.  
"What do you want?" His eyes were dark with mystery and his voice consumed with nothing of emotion or feeling.  
"Just thought I'd drop by," she said softly.  
"Why?"  
"How's Duo feeling?"  
Heero's eyes narrowed.  
"Why, Relena?"  
Relena could sense his tension. -Perhaps... "Maybe I'll just take my leave, now." She flashed her eyes at him and pivoted toward the door.  
Heero reached for her and grabbed her by the shoulder pulling her toward him. It had been a while since he held her close. He stared at her and then hugged her.  
"He's not here," he spoke quietly.  
Relena tensed as he knew she would. She stepped away from him slightly, remaining in his arms.  
"He didn't..." she demanded angrily.  
"An hour ago. Quatre took him."  
Relena tried pushing away from him but his hold on her proved tighter than it felt.  
"Ugh!" she yelled frustrated.  
"What did you expect, Princess?"  
"I expected him not to be so... stupid!" She looked up at him and then relaxed back in his arms and against his chest. "Who is at fault... Duo for going or Quatre for taking him?"  
Heero held Relena's face in his hands. "Or you for making it your concern? They are taking her away today, Relena. Would you have not come to see me?" He looked into her eyes- for the first time in a week or more she saw the glimmer of love he held for her once again but all too briefly.  
She was flustered. "You aren't capable of insubordination," she replied.  
He succeeded in giving her a small smile. Just before they were interrupted he gave her a small, gentle kiss. "I love you," he whispered.  
"Ahem."  
They turned around. Wufei stood at the top of the stairs.  
"When your' done, " he spoke in an almost degrading tone, "Howard's on the line."  
Relena could see Wufei's disgust. Heero turned back to her. The darkness in his eyes had returned. He let go of her and walked away. She knew that was the extent of his show of emotion.  
-I love you too, she thought.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
An armed guard entered the waiting area where Quatre and Duo were sitting.   
"Come with me, Mr. Maxwell," he said. He led Duo down a series of corridors before opening a door and allowing him into a room. There he was frisked for weapons, relieved of all objects capable of causing harm and led to another room. Moments later he was joined by Hilde.  
  
"Why did you come here, Duo?"  
He breathed deeply. He had only a few hours before they were taking her away.  
She stared out the tiny window at the free world. There she stood, still bound by the cuffs on her wrists.  
"Because I want to know, Hilde. I want to know why you walked away from your responsibilities as a Federation soldier to work for WASP." Hilde swallowed her heart. "I want to know why you never even bothered to find out whether I was ok or not. You -did- know I was in the hospital, right," he commented sarcastically.  
She looked at him trying hard to understand his question. She explained that she had run from the military and could not have risked being caught. "I could not have come so early in the game, Duo."  
"Once you stepped into that uniform Hilde, -regardless- of what you thought, you belonged to   
-Them-!" Duo snapped.  
"Yeah.. well..."  
She could say nothing. He was right.  
"I am only here for one thing." He looked at her with saddened eyes. "I want to know -why- not your excuses, Hilde."  
Tears filled her eyes, she couldn't believe what he was asking.  
Duo hated seeing her in tears and so shaken. There was once a time when her crying- or even her kiss- would have broken him. It was different now. Now he had no sentimental attachments to her.  
"Why--" she cried.  
"Why did you walk away and why did you come back?"  
She began crying harder. "Duo... why are you asking me this?"  
"Because, Hilde... -I- need to know."  
She sat down in the sole little chair that was the only occupant other than them two in the room.  
"I understand you wanting to go to L5... why did you step back into alliance dress if you were working for the WASP?"  
Hilde stared up at him through tear swelled eyes.  
"I was afraid, Duo. I... I didn't want to make things difficult," she breathed, "not for you or anyone... I took the alliance orders..." could she tell him that it was because of guilt? That WASP had offered her high status and great wealth? What measure would that have been- the WASP would have been defeated one way or another and she'd have nothing to enjoy. They convinced her somehow otherwise. "I..."  
"You left the alliance because you were weak. You are a -traitor-" he growled.  
"I came here because I had no where else to go and I hoped that it would be different. That you would have forgiven me by now."  
Duo's once affectionate eyes were clouded by murky darkness. he held her in contempt, giving her his own sort of sentencing.  
"Forgiving you for wanting refuge from war is one thing... but for abandoning your unit; your mission to work for the enemy..." he knocked on the door. "That's a horse of a different color," he said.  
When the door opened he took one last look at her.  
"Duo," she sobbed.  
"Good bye, Hilde," he said and walked out.  
She ran toward him but stopped as the guard positioned his gun at her.  
  
~~~  
  
"Are you going?"  
Quatre stared at a picture on the wall.  
"Quatre, I have to. He was like a father to me."  
Lucrezia sighed. She didn't understand what was going on with him. He turned around.  
"Then I'll see you when you get back."  
She stared at him.  
"Won't you come with me, Quatre?"  
He looked into her eyes. She seemed confused, almost hurt. -He- was almost hurt.  
"Won't you be going with the Colonel?"  
"Well... yes but... I don't see what that has to do with anything."  
"I have stuff to take care of here," he said.   
After his words cleared the air, Duo walked in.  
"Quatre, I'm ready." He acknowledged Lucrezia and the two walked away.  
  
Upon arrival to their home an hour later, they were greeted by Wufei's arrogance.  
"It's about -time- you two showed up." He had his sword in his hand and walked past them with a grunt.  
Heero stood on the porch staring down at the two young men. Both looked solemnly depressed.  
"Howard called." Eyes went wide. "Nothing was found, those guys never said what they were after," even though deep down they all knew. "He's got tighter security on the place but he's loading them and sending them here. Noin got clearance from Carter." He stared at them directly and walked away.  
  
  
9.  
THE BEGINNING  
  
Another week and a half past by. The tension had grown deeply intense. Only days ago the Mobil suit Gundams had arrived, camouflaged as military ordered units. Carter had given orders to abandon a hangar five miles off base giving instructions that the five young men were to be the sole holders of access. Everyone knew what was going on and why that particular hangar had been chosen. It was three miles from the residence of the owners of the Mobil suits that would be stored there. Each pilot inspected and repaired any and all damage his own suit had incurred.  
  
Duo sat in the cockpit of Deathscythe Hell; once again familiarizing himself with his machine of Death. The solitude he felt sent him back in time to his battles bringing back memories he wanted to forget. Trowa blowing up his original Deathscythe, watching Peace Million and Libra plummet toward the earth, seeing the base of the WASP blow up at the same time that his Gundam took an unexpected blow from... he never did find out what took him out of action that day. Then there was a memory he would never forget. The love he once held in his heart for Hilde Schbeiker.   
He remembered how she almost lost her life when she stole the information from Libra to bring them. And then their battle against the WASP came to mind.   
--"I'm not going,"--  
He could still hear her protest in his mind. Heero's words of her actions broke his heart far beyond what he could have ever imagined and now it was shattered from the news of her life sentencing six days ago for the murder of General Antonio Marinova. She was -still- working for the enemy only she refused to give information about who "the enemy" was. Her penalty was handed down based on these newest actions -as well as- the charges brought against her for leaving her mission to protect the Queen. It was then discovered that she had been working for the WASP which added the final judgement. She was executed that very night.  
  
Heero climbed out of the cockpit of Wing Zero and up to the top, making adjustments here and there oblivious to anything around him. His thoughts reflected on his self-detonation. He was supposed to die that day but he didn't. He thought about Quatre's loss of his father and the anger and guilt he went through. He reflected on Trowa's strength -and- cowardice and of Wufei's arrogance during battle. Just as it was for him, none of them -wanted- to be involved, they only did it for the sake of the people. The memory of Duo's fall flashed before him and then sitting next to his best friend silently as he cried. He wanted to not have to tell him that Hilde ran but knew it had to be done. When Lucrezia brought back news of her execution it broke Duo's spirit even more. Heero felt a deep void inside as he kept watch over his friend after that news.   
His thoughts carried him back to his last confrontation with Zechs and his first encounter with Relena on Repudiation. The battle with Zechs Marquise lingered in the depths of his mind. Zechs had been -asking- for his death but he was much too strong a soldier for death and highly important to Relena. Relena who, with the swift words of her mouth, kicked him and his fellow pilots and soldiers off the face of the earth. Relena- the spoiled daughter of Foreign Vice Minister Darlien or rather... Princess of the Sank Kingdom. He fell in love with her the moment he saw her but was dedicated to his work. -She's in the way, he had stated. When he saw her again seven months after the banishment he was still angry with her. He loved her but could not get past the hurt he felt from her actions. And for everything he did or that happened it was she that stood at the end of his accomplishments. -She- was his mission and it was too true. He -did- love her... then and now and forever.  
  
Wufei stared into the eyes of his suit.  
"Nataku, by what right do you give me permission to embark on this journey?"  
His pain over took him. His battle with Treize resurfaced itself. Their first battle on the ship by sword had knocked his pride almost irretrievably lost. Shortly after that he met Sally Po. Now -she- was someone he wanted to lose from the beginning. She was so weak and insisted on fighting even at that. But he soon decided that she -was- someone he could respect, even for a woman. Then the memory of his clan being destroyed. He was left to find the integrity of his battle and staged an all out attack on those who had destroyed his entire world. There- before the very eyes of his memory- he saw Treize counting off the men who had given their lives in battle for him just before he headed straight for Wufei. Wufei justified his action of killing Treize as self-defense but it didn't help.   
"It was a natural instinct to defend myself," he'd defend.   
After that he swore that he would never allow himself to feel that way again. The feeling of unbearable loss that consumed him after that moment. He never wanted to see a warrior with such strength and honor die by his own hands unless he too was dying. When he kneeled on the ground beside Duo's inanimate body after the explosion of the base, he felt that pain again even though Duo's fall was not by his hand. -Come to think about it... "What -did- shoot him down?" He asked silently out loud before climbing into the cockpit. He remembered that Sally had tried to be there for him but he refused her. For a long time he tried avoiding her and even managed to rough her up a bit by telling her that he had no use for her. But she was unmoving and still insisted on being there. "I can take care of myself," he snarled at her.   
He stepped off of Nataku and looked up at his beloved machine. With the drawing of much strength he let out a heavy breath. "I love her," he said and could picture Sally's soft blue eyes and cute smile in his mind. A picture that momentarily made him smile as well.  
  
Quatre stood in the palm of his Sand Rock's hand. Almost with a sense of reluctance he climbed into the cockpit. Inside he sat in the seat and stared at the contraptions the interior held. He saw in his mind the small light that indicated the approach of another Mobil suit. He remembered first meeting Trowa and the others. Then the death of his father came crashing down on him. His heart felt to break all over again as he recalled the actions he took after the death. He remembered battling with Heero and sending Trowa into his celestial burial- so he thought. It was a painful recollection. Flashes of Dorothy played in his mind as he recalled battling her after their incident with the Zero System and unconsciously rubbed the scar that her sword left behind. Hearing that her body was found on the shore and then seeing Duo get shot down in his Deathscythe brought back overwhelming feelings of helplessness. He could not protect Duo and never saw what it was that sent his comrade plummeting from the sky. His heart seemed constricted in his chest at the sound of his own words- "Deathscythe has been shot down..."  
  
Trowa repaired his Gundam and brought it to life. The others watched him as he swung the arms around lightly. He inspected the movements making mental notes and stopped himself at an attempt to move forward. With the flip of a switch, Heavyarms was still once more. He mentally saw a brief vision of all his battles. Helping Heero go to each member of the Noventa family to apologize for his actions led him to the memory of his first encounter with Quatre, then Heero and Duo and finally Wufei. He remembered Quatre and Heero's battle, his own struggle trying to understand Oz; even infiltrating Lady Une's private wall as her subordinate she had called him.  
He remembered how Quatre had wanted him to take care of Dorothy and then the devastation when she was found eight miles from the hospital Concord from where she had escaped. From that memory he found himself reliving the moment he jumped out of the cockpit after watching Deathscythe take a nosedive out of the sky. Then he heard that Wufei had found Duo a distance away from the wreckage. "What the hell -was- that," he wondered before he shook the memories away.  
He opened the cockpit and remembered how Catherine had climbed in and slapped him telling him he had no consideration for the lives of the people around him. He sighed. "She didn't understand," he said as he climbed out and jumped to the ground.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
For the next few nights, sleep did not come easily for any of the group. It was hot and muggy. Mostly there was a tension in the air that could not be set aside. It was devouring each one of them separately but together.   
Wufei brought back his fencing lessons with Relena ignoring Heero's objections. It was by Sally's conviction that he released Relena of his teachings and continued to train on his own.  
-- "-You're- the reason he won't talk to her,"-- she had said.  
"What the hell does she know?" he said as he trained against an imaginary foe.  
--"Woman! If Yuy and Relena want to talk they don't have to use me as an excuse not to!"  
"Wufei! Don't you understand?" She threw her arms up in the air. "Of course you don't! You are so... clueless!"  
"What--?"  
"He objects to her even -looking- at a gun and -You- are teaching her to -Kill-! Chang! She's a pacifist! Ugh!"  
"Oh... ok, Heero!" He recalled Heero's words time back when Hilde first showed up.  
"Shut up!" She yelled back at him. "If you want to continue training her, go ahead..."  
"I will!"  
"But don't come crying to me when she gets in way over..."  
"Woman, I'm warning you!"  
"-SHUT UP-!" She eyed him vengefully.--  
"Who the hell does she think she is to tell -me- to shut up? Damn women! This place would have been better off without... -them-!"  
  
Quatre walked the grounds- mostly at night- collecting his thoughts. He worried about everything and everyone. So much had happened since they landed on Repudiation. Duo's letters, Relena's fencing, Hilde showing up, Marinova's death, his feelings for Lucrezia, which didn't help, and the break in that brought the Gundams here to the rock. Nothing made sense anymore.  
It had been about a week since he last saw Lucrezia. He was jealous of her time with Colonel Quince. She had been by to drop off a chest for Duo and that was the last time he talked to her or saw her. He continually knocked himself in the head for being less than civil to her and now that the Colonel was gone, he realized that he had nothing to worry about in the first place. Not only that but he had not stated his claim to her by any means in the first place so why it had bothered him to begin with was beyond him.  
--"It's because you love her, Q."  
Duo smiled at him as they sat talking on the balcony.  
"Q?" His brow shot up in surprise. "Why 'Q'?"  
"Just gettin' lazy, I guess."  
"Do you really think that's it?"  
"Quatre, Quatre, Quatre... would you be this worked up if it -wasn't- true?"--  
Perhaps he was right. He wasn't even sure if she would want to see him so how was he going to get her attention. -This- was what he pondered most of the time during his night journeys.  
  
Duo stepped into his own world long enough to finish his mourning. It had been close to two weeks since the news and he had no regrets as far as telling her how he felt. He had even said good-bye to her. Perhaps it was more the thought that he was never going to see her again and this time it was a sure thing.  
Only days afterward, Lucrezia brought back a small chest full of Hilde's belongings. She had claimed that Hilde's record specifically stated that the belongings were to go to him.  
--"But why?"  
"Maybe there is something she wants you to find."--  
Duo stared at the chest. It was hardly big enough to hold much of anything. He picked it up and set it on his bed, hesitantly opening the combination lock.  
--"How am I supposed to open it?"  
"She said you were the only one who would know how."--  
One- four- three. He sighed. "Did you, Hilde? Did you -truly- love me?"  
Inside were letters from Seita; -She should have these, he thought, pictures of him as well as a few of -them- and four journals. He looked at them, studying their covers and titles. The first was marked "After Libra," the second "War", the third "WASP" and the fourth "?".  
He flipped through each of them curiously, skimming a line here and there. All of them started with a single sentence on the first page. "If anything happens to me, Duo... at least you'll know why."  
He opened up the last one- it was incomplete as the others had been used to the last sheet. He read her last entry.  
"Duo told me to leave today. If he knew of what I've done... would he hold it against me forever? It doesn't matter. I made sure they saw me... it will only be a matter of time before they find me here. At least then I can't hurt him anymore. Duo, it is because I love you that I'm unwilling to finish my mission- unfortunately the worst part is done." He could almost hear her voice as if she were reading it to him. His eyes narrowed at the last line; his heart filling with more grief but at the same time a sense of peace. "Duo, my Love... I will always love you- maybe one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me."  
It would take him some time to read the journals in hopes to understand her reasoning and perhaps truly be able to forgive her. Time would come he felt certain.  
  
~~~  
  
Days passed slowly, making it seem like weeks; the hours feeling infinite. The morning air was uninviting but Trowa sat on the balcony anyway. The quietness of this time of day was very surreal to him. All the world was non-existent, he could sit and do nothing without concern of interruption.  
He often sat alone on the platform. Always facing the horizon as he held his knees to his chest staring blankly at the shining waters in the far west.  
"He's always out there, just staring..."  
The soft voice of the young Winner carried and echoed throughout the room. Quatre sighed as he watched his friend sit alone in silence. It was very rare that anyone joined him but if someone was out there it was usually Duo. Today, Duo had yet to be seen.  
  
Memories swam around in Trowa's mind. Ever since the Gundams arrived he couldn't stop hearing the voices, seeing replays of the battles; faces... Catherine. He remembered the sadness in her eyes when he left her for the last time to come to this rock.  
--"Don't go Trowa! You can stay with us," she cried.  
He wiped the tear away from her cheek and walked away. "You don't understand."  
"Please..."  
"I'm sorry."--  
The words escaped his lips once more as he stared toward the waters that would eventually swallow the light of the sun. It was overwhelming him- these memories. He remembered, too quickly, the pain he felt in the banishment. The animosity that the people of earth and the colonies held toward him and the others.  
Catherine didn't understand his pain. She kept begging him to stay, crying, pleading. What could he do?  
--"Trowa--" she screamed as he walked away, still in tears. "You have refuge here!"--  
Of that he was certain. He had managed to hide in the circus for a time and knew that he could live in a comfort zone with Catherine protecting him. He remembered how she had taken care of him during his memory loss. Before the WASP outbreak he had even stayed with her in the circus, ever keeping in her company.  
--"But why should I stay when you are the only one who wants me? How fair is it to the others if I stay?"  
"Trowa--" she screamed.--  
His heart was breaking all over again. He remembered that he chose not to turn around because if he had it would have costed him his self-honor. He could not live comfortably knowing that his friends had been rejected, as had he and yet he managed to stay well in the circus. It was not something he could live with.  
-No... Catherine did not understand at all. How could she?  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
The next morning Quatre watched Trowa in silence again. Everyday he watched his friend go into a deeper world of obvious pain.  
  
~~~  
  
"Are you sure about this, Heero?"  
Heero turned around to face Duo.  
"Have I been wrong before?"  
Heero walked over to a cabinet and opened a drawer. He pulled out a folder reluctantly and then handed it to Duo.  
Duo eyed Heero cautiously as he emptied the envelope of its contents. He flipped over the first page and read the only four words that jumped off the page at him. His eyes widened, his heart pounded and his mouth suddenly grew patches of cotton so thick he almost choked.  
"Do the others..."  
"No. I've been waiting to confirm it and now that I have..."  
"What about Relena?"  
"As far as I can tell, she is not who they're after."  
"So she's not a target?"  
"She is the least of my concerns right now, Duo..."  
Duo sighed as he replaced the packet back into the folder. He watched Heero walk over to the window. Heero stood with his hands tucked in his pockets and stared out at the scape beneath him. To the left he could see Trowa sitting on the platform two floors down.  
-Everyday it gets worse. What is it, Trowa?  
In the past year or so- since Relena's arrival, Heero had slowly gained a certain role as caretaker. He left the worrying to Quatre as he felt the sensitive young man was more qualified for that position but somewhere along the road of time, he developed a sense of deep concern for each of his friends. Trowa and Duo were at the top but since Duo had confessed of his dealings with self-guilt and mentioned the contents of the chest, he knew that Duo was no longer a threat to himself. It was Trowa who was destined to do the most harm.  
  
Sudden movement caught his eye. He was unsure that he'd seen anything but his senses told him otherwise. He stared at the grounds just beyond his view of Trowa.  
  
As the morning grew into early noon, Trowa could hear voices from somewhere inside but he paid no mind to them- it did not concern him.  
  
"Are you alright, Trowa?"  
Silence. The gentle voice seemed to disappear on the breeze.  
Quatre felt uneasy at the silence. All audible sound came from the trees rustling at the slightest brushing of air.  
Heero watched the scene below, aware of Duo's presence next to him.  
"Something's not right," he murmured more to himself than anything.  
Duo knew enough that when Heero had a sense about something it was time to move. Before he could say anything Heero had already run out of the room.  
-Yup, Heero... run, don't walk, he thought to himself and began to survey the grounds slowly.  
  
"I can't get her out of my head," Trowa called back to Quatre.  
Quatre slowly advanced to the railing of the platform.   
"I keep seeing her tears and hearing her voice..."  
Quatre was silent, he didn't know what to say. Just as he opened his mouth to speak Trowa moved, only slightly but enough to catch Quatre's attention. Then out of nowhere Trowa jumped up and threw himself and Quatre to the ground just as someone open-fired in their direction. Suddenly there was crossfire from the side and above them.  
"Trowa, Quatre... get out of there," Duo yelled down from his open window where he was shooting.  
Moments later the gunfire ceased and Heero had come out onto the deck and jumped off the balcony to ground level. Trowa and Quatre were next on the ground followed shortly by Duo.  
Heero stood with one foot on the chest of a dying soldier and his gun pointed and locked at the soldier's head.  
"What do you want?" His voice was cold and heartless just as it had been in the battles of the past.  
The others could see the blood oozing out from the wounds that the man had suffered in the crossfire. Quatre gently removed the headgear and goggles. Once he did so, he gasped and then fell silent as he looked up at Heero who was still unmoved.  
"For you to die," she whispered as her own life fled from her body.  
  
Tears flooded Trowa's eyes but only for a moment. He quickly shook off the emotion he was feeling and scanned the grounds.  
"There could be more," he said as he helped Heero move the body of the dead girl.  
"No... not yet," Heero replied as he too surveyed the area and then left the group.  
"He's bleeding," Quatre noted softly and followed.  
  
~~~  
  
"Princess Relena," the voice was comforting, "Will you be having dinner with Mr. Heero and the others tonight?"  
Relena looked up from her work. Ever since she had thought about it that time while talking with Seita, she still found it odd that there were those few who still kept referring to her as "Princess". Including Heero Yuy.  
"No," she whispered and closed her book. She put down her pen and stood up to face the young woman. "You are welcome to take leave if you wish."  
"Yes, ma'am," the woman said and both turned away from the other.  
Relena walked over to the window. Of all the rooms in the house she much preferred this one. Not only because it's positioning allowed for continual contact with the sun but because she could look over the fields and see the "Men's place."  
It had been almost -if not more- than a week since she had seen or heard from Heero or any of the other young men from across the way. Her thoughts focussed in on the one person in that house just beyond her grasp.  
"When will you tell me, Heero?"  
She watched out into the pasture knowing that something was wrong. Knowing too well that there was nothing she could do about it.  
With one hand on the window before her and the other on her chest she looked down to let the single tear that had escaped from her eye fall to the ground. And as it fell there came a knock on the door.  
"Yes," she called to no answer. She waited but still there was nothing.  
She walked to the door drying her face and opened it. Without warning a shot was fired and almost that second Relena fell to the floor into a pool of blood.  
"Miss Relena---"  
Someone came running. Relena could hear the pounding of feet and could see someone running but everything went dark.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
"She'll be alright," a man said. A doctor in a white coat stood before the group. "I don't think she had a chance to realize that it was not her blood." He turned to Lucrezia. "And the young one will be fine also, she is just a little shook up."  
Heero stepped away from the group and slipped quietly into Relena's room. Trowa observed his doing so from his position by the window.  
"Not yet...?"  
Catherine's tears still flooded his memory and now the soldier on their grounds and the soldier that was held captive under Sally's authoritative care.  
"I'll show you 'not yet', Heero."  
He walked away from the group.  
  
Once inside, Heero scolded himself for not bringing the information out sooner.  
Relena remained perfectly still in her bed. For the second time he wondered what he would have done if she'd been shot.  
"Princess..."  
Heero stared at the girl as he walked to the side of her bed. Smudges of dried blood still sprinkled her face. For the first time he felt remorse. Remorse that he hadn't heeded Trowa's advice. "There could be more," he thought quietly  
-Damn it! What is wrong with me? If I'd only...  
This was not like him. The feeling of remorse was overwhelming for him. His thoughts faded when Relena moved and took a shallow breath. Four hours ago she was the least of his concerns- an hour ago she became a target.  
"Heero..." she breathed softly.  
"Relena!" He moved closer by her side. "Relax, take a deep breath."  
"I... I..." she closed her eyes.  
"You weren't shot," he whispered softly as she trailed back off into unconsciousness.  
  
~~~  
  
Lucrezia stood quietly in front of her young understudy.  
"Sieta... what were you doing here, anyway?"  
The petite girl sniffed and sighed.  
"I... I came to see Miss Relena but no one answered..."  
"You were -Supposed- to be completing and assignment!" Lucrezia's voice startled the girl, causing her to jump.  
"I was in the area and didn't think it would hurt..."  
"Do you recall the time limit you had?"  
Seita sniffed again. Tears flooded her eyes as she finished conveying to Lucrezia what happened. "I walked in and up the stairs to find her when I saw... the soldier... he had a gun..." she fell silent.  
"-And-," Lucrezia demanded.  
"Miss Relena opened the door and I open fired," she said with much disgust at her own whiny voice.  
The room was silent for all of five seconds.  
"Captain Noin, I'm sorry," she turned around pleading with her officer.  
Lucrezia didn't know whether to be upset with her or not. On the one hand she was supposed to be doing her training but on the other, she saved Relena's life and disabled the attacker. They both turned around at the sound of a small tapping on the door and watched it open. Seita dried her face quickly when she saw that it was Quatre as she did not want him to see her crying.  
"Excuse me... Lucrezia..."  
She walked away from the girl and stood inches away from Quatre. It was the first time they'd seen each other since she brought the chest to Duo. She wanted to smile and hug him but couldn't bring herself to do it in front of Seita. She was content to see that -he- was asking for   
-her- instead of the other way around.  
"Yes, Quatre?" She sighed in obvious disappointment.  
Quatre stared into her eyes and then turned to look at Seita. Noticing that she had her back to them, he turned back to his friend. "Everything ok?"  
Lucrezia wiped her mouth and placed her hands on her hips.  
"For the moment. How's Miss Relena?"  
It had been an hour since the doctor left. The group had all disassembled and found their way back to their places in the world.  
"Good. Heero is in there with her... I think she is sleeping." Quatre was silent for a moment before clearing his throat. "I was wondering if you would come with me... I need your help with..."  
Lucrezia took another look at Seita. Disappointment indeed.  
"Yeah, sure, Quatre... anything," she spoke softly and left the girl alone.  
When they were gone Seita turned away from the window. She hoped that since they had not been talking that she would have a chance to squeeze in and charm her way into Quatre's heart but she could see now that it was inevitable. She would not get close to his heart the way she wanted.  
"Crap!"  
  
~~~  
  
Trowa stood alone on the outskirts of Miss Relena's home. He could not rid himself of the tears that seemed to carelessly fall from his eyes.  
-How could Heero not take my advice? I could sense that there were more... why couldn't he?  
"Ugh! These tears," he wiped them away profusely but still, like a broken tap they fell.  
"Trowa...?"  
"Go away, Quatre."  
"Trowa?"  
He had no choice but to turn around. He looked directly at his two inquisitors.  
"Miss Noin," he said as dryly as he could.  
"Trowa, can we talk?"  
"About what?" He cleared his throat.  
"About you... what you're feeling?"  
Trowa brushed passed her silently. "No. There's nothing to talk about." He walked back toward the house leaving the two alone... the way he wanted to be.  
  
~~~  
  
"It gets worse every day," Quatre sighed.  
"Quatre, it's nothing you've done..."  
"I know," he yelled gently. "I just worry and now this..."  
Lucrezia put a hand on Quatre's shoulder. She didn't know what to do for him... or for Trowa.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Midnight rolled around faster than any had expected. All the day's events had the five young men not focussing on the time for once. But now it was crucial to watch the time. Heero had left Relena's side reluctantly asking Lucrezia to watch her if it wasn't too much trouble for her. She had chimed that she'd love nothing more and so he took his leave.  
  
He sat behind a desk, waiting. Finally the rest of the group came in. Immediately he stood up as the others assembled around him.  
"What's this about, Heero?" Quatre's sad eyes were more so now.  
"They've staged war on us."  
Heero was silent. Wufei was very intuitive-- although it was not hard to distinguish since they had been attacked.  
"Haven't they?" The voice was hard and cold and very interrogative.  
Wufei stared directly at Heero. Both made and kept eye contact as Heero emptied the envelope. The others could sense a slight hostility in the room.  
"Duo..." Heero threw a packet at him, "Trowa..." the same until all five held a copy of what he had received.  
"I received word on this about three and a half weeks ago..."  
"And you're telling us now?" Trowa's glare was cold; Heero's was ice.  
"I waited so that I could be sure. This came in today..."  
Quatre had already turned the page and fell into the chair beside him. "I thought those days were over," he said.  
Heero and Duo watched as the others flipped the page.  
"Then it begins," Wufei spoke as he slammed his packet down and once more stared at the four words that the others had noticed as well.  
  
DESTROY REMAINING GUNDAM PILOTS. 


	3. Default Chapter Title

Ah yes... the beauty of words on paper. One of the things I love  
about being a writer is that the plot can change within the blink of   
an eye! And not only that but being the one who decides what will   
happen without being really sure of what -WILL- happen!! Too cool!   
  
*Disclaimer* The characters and locations original to Gundam Wing do   
not belong to me, nor do I claim them! I only claim the ones that  
were conjured up by my very own imagination. I write cause I like it   
and I can so nobody sue me...  
  
  
Intro: The Settling of Repudiation.  
  
It had been almost two and a half years since the battle with White Fang. Peace seemed to consume the world nations and the colonies. It was, as it should have been- worldwide pacifism.  
No one expected for there to be a revenge party and when it came about there was no one to stop it. A group of citizens formed together calling themselves the WASP Organization. They staked their claim as Warriors Against Sovereign Peace when they attacked the World-Colony Peace Center during the last hours of the annual peace- fest held there.  
The group doubled, tripled and continued to multiply almost over night until finally several of the colonists and more so of those on earth formed and alliance to counter attack the WASP. Among them were the five Gundam pilots who, despite effortless tactics to avoid going into battle, sacrificed their comfort for the people.  
After this anti-WASP group was formed it did not take long to annihilate the opposing group and its surrounding organization. Once they had been destroyed, two years after it began a rally was held for those soldiers who insisted on pursuing the rights of peace. But somehow, somewhere along the way, most of the people as well as the government affiliates refused to recognize these soldiers as heroes. Instead, they were banned from the earth for taking matters as far as war.  
Some were taken in by the colonies while others refused the asylum offered by the three colonies that held no offense by their action.  
A group of the same soldiers and even a few civilians found and claimed a small satellite and offered, to anyone who would accept, a sort of sanctuary and refuge. Many came and claimed it their home, this place called Repudiation; so named because they had been rejected from the earth.  
It was clear that they could never return to the earth and more so that most had refused the colonies. There were, however, those who had been clearly rejected by both the earth _and_ the colonies: the five young men who took up their Mobil suits once again to fight for the rights of peace. And so, this pseudo earth/colony became home to those who were compelled to live with the other soldiers who fought for a peace that somehow seemed to be going awry. Now, a year later, the five young men found themselves living amongst fellow soldiers and civilians who still somehow believed in them.  
  
  
The Arrival  
  
Heero had been the first to arrive. It was hard at first for him to understand what had happened.  
"We _refused_ the battle! How else was there going to be peace if no one did anything about the WASP?"  
His memory came flooding with what happened in the days, --yes, days he thought, before his arrival on the Rock, as he called it.  
"No one authorized You or_ any_ of the other soldiers to go into battle," yelled Mr. Raice, one of the High Ministers of Peace.  
The man had leaned on the table so that he was no more than six inches away form Heero's face. Both glared into the icy depths of the other's eyes.  
"Miss Peacecraft…. What's it gonna be?"  
Heero shut out the rest of the memory. It was better this way. He knew that it had been too good to be true. Total peace could never have existed with people like himself and High Minister Raice who willfully enforced peace. That had only been weeks ago.  
  
"Heero!" Heero turned toward the sound of the voice. "Heero! How are you? Good to see you!"  
Quatre's ever-present glow had dissipated after their banishment but his smile was still warm and caring. He shook Heero's hand affectionately.  
"Hello, Quatre," Heero offered indifferently. "When did you get here?"  
Quatre filled him in on his arrival and where he'd been staying the past two nights.   
"Where do you live, Heero?"  
Heero felt perturbed by Quatre's constant inquiries.  
"There," he pointed at a small unit that claimed to be some sort of living quarters.   
Quatre stared confused at the tiny building. It couldn't have been bigger than one room he thought.  
"It suits my need," Heero remarked as though he were reading Quatre's mind.  
  
Another month had passed there on the tiny rock. Heero tried hard to keep to himself but it was to no avail. Quatre seemed to need something from him. Heero was more than relieved when Duo arrived. Quatre much welcomed the boost and contrast to the solemnity of Heero's silence.  
Duo was still the same. Very happy-go-lucky was he and if he wasn't he hid it quite well. It was Duo who took his two comrades to the place they would call home.  
"It's too big," Heero announced haughtily.  
"No, its perfect," Duo exclaimed with his mischievous grin.  
"It is kinda big," Quatre agreed as he stared at the massive building in front of him.  
"Awe c'mon guys! We'll have enough space to ourselves!"  
After a while of discussion the three finally agreed to buy the mansion. When it was discovered to have been abandoned completely the three claimed it as their own.  
  
"Hey guys," Duo called after entering the house.  
"Amazing that anyone could live here. Why such a big place?"  
Duo laughed as a young man entered the room.  
"Weidam! Where are Quatre and Heero?"  
The servant stared blankly for he knew not the answer.  
"A servant?"  
Duo laughed again. "Yeah… we have a few!"  
"Why? Are you weak or lazy?"  
Quatre came lightly bouncing down the stairs, like he was walking on hot coals and then stopped short a few feet away from Duo. Heero came in through the front door behind them.  
"Wufei," he grumbled as he walked passed the group.  
Weidam tried grabbing Wufei's bag but quickly learned that Wufei's hostility was nothing to be trifled with.  
It took some time for the others to get used to Wufei's arrogance and anger toward the world. Even after Trowa arrived, things were still rough. But they were all there, now living in a place that accepted them for who they were.  
It wasn't until six months after Trowa's arrival that they were graced by Sally Po's presence. Just when Wufei had learned to adjust, now his comfort had been broken in to once again.  
"What's wrong? Too quiet for you on earth?"  
Those were fighting words and Sally knew it.  
"Truth is, Wufei, I can't stand being away from you," she smiled scornfully at him.  
Quatre was happy that for whatever reason, she came to their little place in the universe to call it her home as well. He was happier still when there came yet another addition to Repudiation. Although this _did_ cause quite a bit of tension- more so than any of the other arrivals.  
  
"How ironic it is that I should be the first to meet you when seven months ago I was the first to meet up with Heero."  
Quatre stood with his arm extended to shake her hand.  
"Have you forgiven me, Quatre?" Relena's eyes were soft and sincere.  
Quatre laughed ruefully.  
"Miss Relena, you were doing your job. There's nothing to forgive."  
--I wish the others were as forgiving.  
"Where are you staying?"  
Relena cleared her throat.  
"Oh, um… I have a place near the water. I'm told it has a wonderful view all around."  
Quatre stared, perplexed at Relena's words. He scratched his head, intrigued. "You mean… you haven't_ seen_ your place yet?"  
Relena smiled and did her best to hide her embarrassment.  
"No, I sent one of my servants here to find a place and he did and here I am." She sighed and fell silent.  
"Miss Relena," Quatre inquired hesitantly, "May I… um," he looked around and picked up her suitcases. "May I accompany you?"  
"Oh Quatre! That won't be necessary!" She looked around, "but…" she blushed again, "I am alone. Everyone is at the house."  
"They didn't come for you?"  
Relena smiled. "They're expecting me tomorrow. But I wanted to not have all the hassles…" she stared at the landscape.  
--Ah, Quatre thought to himself.  
"May I then?"  
"I'd be delighted," she said pleasantly.  
  
Relena and Quatre walked into the two-story house. It was well furnished and decorated much to Relena's taste. She liked it very much.  
The two took their time exploring the first floor, opening doors to rooms, drawers and cabinets, examining dishes, silver ware, dish towels, wall paper, books, writing utensils and all that filled the empty spaces of each room. They looked out all the windows and pointed out to each other the pros and cons of each view.  
On the second floor they examined the three bathrooms as carefully as the one downstairs.  
"Do I really _need_ four bathrooms?" she giggled.  
"Well… you have a number of servants, don't you?" Quatre laughed also.  
"Yes, well…"  
They went in and observed each of the rooms. Seven to be exact. Three for each of her servants, hers and three others for some other use, she quickly assessed in her mind what they'd be used for.  
"There are twelve bedrooms here! Do I_need_ twelve bedrooms?"  
Quatre stood with one hand on his side and the other fluffing his blond hair. "Well," he sighed, "maybe you'll be needing guest quarters!" He smiled teasingly at her and watched as she walked to the window. He followed gently; softly and peered out to view what she was seeing.  
The view caused him to shy away. He walked slowly out of the room. Should he tell her the house she looked at was his? He stared up at the pictures on the wall. Moments later, Relena joined him. They finished exploring and walked back down the stairs.  
"Miss Relena___" gasped one of the maids.  
After that exclamation, the other two scrambled into the room followed by two who were unfamiliar to her.  
"M…Miss… Relena! You're here…"  
"Why we weren't expecting you till tomorrow, Princess…"  
Quatre stood quietly by her side as she inspected the two new servants.  
"Who are they and why are they here," she asked of her servant, Nathan.  
"They needed a job and…"  
"Please, ma'am, if its all the same… we once worked in the home of Treize Khushrenada but due to his untimely death… well…"  
Relena stared at the two young servants. --Or not so young, she thought as they both appeared to be close to her age.  
"No matter," she said and turned swiftly to Quatre. "Thank you very much, dear Quatre, I do appreciate it."  
He smiled and walked toward the door. He held in his hands a picture he found of Heero and her taken on the earth. Before exiting he stopped and turned slowly toward her as he rubbed the face of the picture.  
"Ahem… Relena…" he offered softly.   
She turned around, violet eyes bright. "Yes, Quatre?"  
He handed the picture slowly out to her. "Should I inform him that you're here?"  
Relena walked over to him and looked down at the picture. After a second she grabbed it and gazed at the beautiful face of her beloved. When she looked back up at Quatre her eyes were filled with tears.  
"No, please don't Quatre. Let him find me on his own." She turned away.  
Quatre nodded and left the place quietly.  
  
It was only a day later that it happened.  
"----Quatre" Heero yelled.  
Everyone came into the front room. Quatre held a towel drying his hands as he'd been in the kitchen.  
"Yes, Heero," he replied calmly.  
Heero's glare was brutal. He looked as if to kill Quatre with an imaginary laser beam shooting from his eyes.  
"Where is she staying," he growled.  
"What? Who?" Duo turned to Quatre.  
No one had seen him this angry since the banishment.  
"Across the pasture," Quatre sighed.  
Heero walked up to Quatre, standing no more than an inch away from him. Without warning he grabbed Quatre by the collar and in two steps pinned him to the wall.  
"Why didn't you tell me," he yelled.  
"Take it easy, Heero," Duo cut in as he placed his hand on Heero's shoulder.  
"This doesn't concern_you_, Duo."  
"Heero, she asked me not to… what was I supposed to do?"  
"Heero, cut it out! Get over it," Trowa exclaimed harshly.  
Heero let Quatre go and walked out of the house.  
"Where are you going, Heero…"  
Quatre ran to the door, for he knew very well where. He turned to the others. "What?" They all observed him intently. "Relena… came here to live." He walked to the far window and stared out. He watched Heero walk fitfully over the hill to Relena's home. "She lives…"  
"Across the pasture… yes, we know," Wufei replied as he looked beyond the hill and then stepped away. "Too much credit,' he said before walking away.  
  
Heero opened the door in the same manner as he had at his own house except this door was less stable. Relena came out of the study and down the stairs. She waved her servants away so that she could confront Heero alone.  
"But who'll fix the door, ma'am?" Nathan called as he walked out of the room.  
"I have a pretty good idea," she said softly and stared at Heero.  
"Why are you here?"  
Relena wanted to guffaw.  
"Because I choose to be," she spoke semi-harshly.  
"What? You didn't feel bad enough having us kicked off the face of the planet so you decided to make this your summer home?"  
Heero now stood in front of her. He circled her, looking her up and down. Relena stood where she was, greatly aware of his gaze upon her.  
"Well," she volunteered curtly.  
Heero stared at her without compassion.  
"We were _rejected_Relena! YOU don't have the right to be here."  
"Don't I, Heero? And the other civilians who came here because they believed in you, do _they_ have the right?"  
Heero could not believe her words. "They left on _Your_ orders just like we did Queen… Princess-Miss Peacecraft."  
Relena fought back the tears she felt straining to form. The memory of that fateful day came rushing into her mind's eye.  
-"I'm sorry, Heero but it is my job to ensure peace."   
"You can't mean that, Princess. -We- fought for those rights! You're just going to let this happen? She felt the pain all over again. "Then you can tell the others, Princess… Peacecraft."  
"Heero, I was doing my job," she stammered.  
"Your job---?"  
He glared at Relena. The memory was present in both of them, he could see it in her eyes and she could hear it in his voice.  
"Your -job- was to ensure the rights of peace! You -knew- Relena, you   
-KNEW- we didn't want to fight! --WE HAD NO CHOICE," he yelled.  
"YOU had EVERY choice," she yelled back. "You had… every… choice," she fell to her knees in tears. "YOU were the ones who -chose- to go, Damn it!"  
She was right and Heero knew it.  
-"How else was there going to be peace…" he remembered.  
"I was advised and I had to do what was best to see that peace was preserved!" She looked up, eyes flooded and red. The violet color almost black. "It was for the sake of the people."  
Heero glared down at her. "We -were- the people, Princess." He looked up to see the servants peeking out of their hiding places and then walked out of the house.  
  
Several hours passed. Duo and Quatre walked up to the doorless entry. Examining the damage, Quatre turned to Duo and whistled lightly. Duo looked at the door and then inside. A servant was kneeling next to Relena and quickly moved away when Quatre entered at Duo's insistence.  
"Miss Relena," he spoke softly and kneeled beside her.  
She lay still in the fetal position as tears streamed down her face to a puddle on the floor beneath her.  
"Relena, Duo and I are going to fix the door for you…"  
She looked up at him. It was the first time she moved since Heero had left. "Quatre," she whispered and moved to hug him. "He hates me," she cried in Quatre's arms. He embraced her warmly while she cried.  
Duo took notice of the scene and then began to work alone. He, too, had been hurt by Relena's actions but had learned to deal with it. In fact- all of them except Heero, had been more upset at the people they fought for. Each knew that Relena had a job to fulfill. There was the exception of Wufei form time to time- "Weak women should not be leaders," he would say.  
  
After a short period, Relena, Duo and Quatre sat outside staring into the sky and drinking tea.  
"Why did you leave the earth, Miss Relena?"  
She sighed. That was the question of the day. She had thought of nothing else since Heero's departure earlier that morning.  
"Because I could no longer live where peace had to be enforced upon the people. When I made those decisions back then… I thought it was the right thing to do…"  
Quatre stared quietly at the table where Duo put his cup.  
"Look, Relena, whatever happened back there -HAD- to happen. We just learned to be careful about our tactics… that's all," he chuckled.  
Relena's glance at him caused him to turn away.  
"I left the earth because they gave me an ultimatum."  
Quatre's eyes widened and Duo's mouth slightly dropped.  
"An ultimatum?" Quatre questioned.  
"Why?" asked Duo. "What?"  
"I had to resign my position as Her Excellency, High Minister and leave to a colony or be rejected by the colonies at my refusal to leave the earth. Either give up my earth or my life."  
  
Heero had been standing just inside the doorway. His heart tore at Relena's words. He would have given up his life for peace but her… she was stronger than that. Instead of making his move forward to meet with her again, he retreated and left her home without making contact with her. He couldn't see her now.  
  
"Repudiation seemed the best place…" she whispered.  
The two agreed with her.   
  
  
It had been two weeks before Heero saw Relena again. They passed each other on the street, Heero with his hands in his pocket and Relena carrying a grocery bag. Neither said anything in passing, they simply eyed each other and walked on.  
Only seconds passed before he turned around and caught up to her. He removed the bag from her grasp and set it down, ignoring her protests.  
"Heero... stop.... Heero... what..."  
He took her delicate hands in his causing her to tremble slightly and become very silent. This was unusual behavior for him... even after the period of peace on earth. Her eyes were so lovely and beautiful. Heero took careful note of her features- they were smoothed and well defined. He had taken too long to do this.  
"Princess..." he whispered and then turned away to clear his throat. It was a difficult matter for him but he knew he had to do it. "Relena... I'm...." he paused and matched his gaze to hers, "I'm sorry."  
Relena stared into his eyes. What could she do or say? She wanted to hit him for the way he had acted the last eight months since before the banishment took place but she wanted to hold him as well. She hated him but could not relinquish her love for him.  
"You broke my door," she managed.  
"Yes, but I also sent Duo and Quatre to fix it." Were they even now, he wondered.  
"You rejected me, Relena."  
"And so... I was rejected also, Heero," she replied.  
For a moment there was silence and then he let go of her hands to pick up her bag. "May I?"  
Relena giggled. "Why Mr. Yuy. I do believe there is something in the water, for you _are_ acting rather strangely!"  
Heero's face grew dim. How often was it that he apologized from his heart because of something _he'd_ done and didn't mean to?  
"Must be," he said and walked on with her.  
  
  
It had been nine and a half months since Heero first came and two and half since Relena had been there. They had taken up the "half" ignoring each other until Heero apologized and spent the next two reclaiming their friendship before they worked on their relationship as more.  
They sat across from each other in a small coffee shop, neither drinking the coffee. They talked about the place where they lived, the tiny rock called home. Matters came up about Sally and Wufei who were destined to become a couple and Trowa's sadness.  
"He doesn't talk about it?" Relena showed much concern in her voice and eyes.  
Heero shook his head slightly. "Duo spends a lot of time talking to him, and Quatre too..." he sighed.  
"Hmmm," Relena sighed.  
During the silence Relena looked out the window at the city. The world was slowly going dark. Moments passed before she realized that Heero had been staring at her for some time.  
"What," she blushed.  
He smiled. He too had taken notice of the time.  
"It's getting late," he said.  
"Yes... and I must be getting back," she replied.  
Heero acknowledged her request and took her home.  
  
  
It was then a short time later; a number of days, that Lucrezia Noin made her presence known on Repudiation. None had seen Quatre so much alive in quite some time. The glow about him returned upon sight of her.  
  
"Come in, we've got plenty of room," Duo charmed.  
"I'm sure you do," she gasped at the inside of their mansion.  
"Boy is someone going to be surprised to see you!" Duo smiled brightly as he looked around. "Quatre!" he yelled. "Quatre!"  
"He stepped out," Trowa said as he exited the kitchen and crossed to the stairs. He stopped just before he took the first step and turned to face Duo and Noin. "Miss Noin," he commented and bowed his head. "Staying here tonight?"  
Noin looked up to the ceiling and then back at Trowa. "Looks that way," she answered.  
"Hmm," he responded, "enjoy... and welcome," he offered before carelessly ascending the stairs.  
After another hour Quatre finally entered the kitchen with two bags of groceries. Oblivious to Duo's guest, he ordered that Duo help Heero and himself with the rest of them.  
"I'll help," Noin jumped up and offered excitedly.  
Quatre turned around immediately dropping the bag with milk in it. Not caring that milk was flooding the floor he walked over to her and hugged her.  
"When did you... how did you...?"  
"I'll just get the milk," Duo decided as he began to mop up the white mess.  
"Damn it, Duo! Can't you do anything right?" Heero pushed past the bag and jumped over the liquid.  
"What?"  
"It's my fault," Quatre offered in.  
"No, actually, it's mine," Noin insisted.   
"Well... at least _somebody_ speaks up about it!" Duo stood holding the mop up right with his fist on his hip and stared, content that the mess was not his fault.  
"Heero stared at the floor and then at Duo. "I don't care whose fault it is... clean it up."  
Duo shook off Heero's tone and continued with the mopping. After all groceries were put away, Quatre and Noin sat in the kitchen talking and laughing as they had done when on earth. They were happy and content in each other's company.  
Each had their own little world to live in: Heero and his "Princess", Wufei and, though he hated admitting his weakness, Sally, Quatre and Noin and then Duo and Trowa. Duo who worked out at a miner's plant and Trowa who sat on the balcony half if not all day. But Trowa seemed to be harmless and so they all let him be. He even surprised them a time or two with his musical talent, word of wisdom in an actually intellectual conversation or a laugh here and there.  
All was well, as it should have always been. Peace, at last.  
  
  
2.  
DUO'S LETTER  
  
Trowa was always the sensible one. He and Duo became close friends after the battle but something happened to him that caused him to close up. Duo, and the others he was certain, felt much concern for Trowa. He had been fine after White Fang. Nothing had changed accept that they were -then- in a time of peace. No, they were sure that it had something to do with the WASP battle. It wasn't until then that he'd changed. He came to Repudiation quite a changed young man.  
"Hey Trowa..."  
"Yeah?"  
"Where do you think the others are?"  
Duo watched Trowa staring out into the horizon. He didn't seem too concerned about the whole thing. In fact, Duo noted; he didn't seem too concerned about a -lot- of things. It puzzled both Duo and Quatre, who were undoubtedly the closest to him, and it infuriated Wufei.  
"Who knows. I'm sure Quatre is somewhere with Miss Noin and we both know where Heero is."  
Duo smiled at the thought. -Yeah... Heero. All the ladies loved him.  
"What about Wufei?"  
That was a hard one. Ever since Sally had come, things had been up and down between them and between Wufei and the group. If it was not one thing, it was another.  
Duo remembered Sally and Wufei's first encounter. He laughed at Wufei and all his arrogance when he sent out his remark -the fighting words, to Sally about why she left the earth. But as time passed they became quite the eccentric item. The others often commented on their oddity as a couple.  
"With the way they argue, they -need- to be together!"  
Heero's words were too right.  
"Are you kidding? They need to be as far apart from each other as possible," Trowa had stated. So it had been that the constant bickering had gotten to him as well.  
  
Duo laughed out loud to himself. He remembered a time, just recently, when they were together and had come back from their outing. He remembered being in the study room just to the side of the foyer, just thinking and relaxing. Quatre and Trowa were in the kitchen down the way talking, -well... Quatre was talking anyway, he thought and he could not remember where Heero was, until later.  
  
Wufei came in followed by a vibrantly vocal companion.  
"I -never- said that you had to chip in, I -said- that it would be -nice- if you chipped in every once in a while!"  
"-Woman-," he shouted, "it is -your- place and I don't even know   
-why- we are having this conversation!"  
Sally interjected quite contumacious at his words. "Because  
-YOU"RE- the one who complains about the way I leave it!"  
Wufei spun sharply around as to face an invisible attacker. "Well if you would -put stuff away- then I wouldn't complain!"  
Duo stared into the foyer leaned back in his chair with his feet on the desk. He laughed lightly at the couple in front of him. He'd been to Sally's place before, he didn't think it was messy. -Not as Wufei must think if it has gotten -this- out of hand!  
"Wufei, you would complain if there was nothing there that you could complain about," she broke away. "And," she spoke again, "if it bothers you so much, then -why- do you -continually insist- on having dinner there all the time?"  
Duo was now standing by the entryway of the study, leaning on the beam of the door. He noticed Quatre and Trowa standing by the kitchen door and Heero above them. He was leaning on the banister on the second floor watching the scene as it unfolded below.  
Sally and Wufei were suddenly aware of the four pairs of eyes on them. Sally first took sight of Trowa and Quatre causing Wufei to turn around. Then they noticed Duo and Heero also. She let out a forced breath.  
"You know what? I'm leaving," she said and headed toward the door.  
"-Good!"  
"-Fine!"  
"-So leave!  
"-I am!"  
"-Fine!"  
Slam! Wufei stared at the door in half anticipation that it was going to open again. It didn't. Duo glanced up at Heero who was observing his watch.  
"Ugh! Women," Wufei grumbled. "She's so..."  
Sally walked down the path expectant that Wufei would follow her. He didn't.  
"Men!" she growled. "He's so..."  
"-Childish!" each exclaimed, Wufei as he entered the courtyard and Sally as she passed through the threshold onto the sidewalk.  
  
  
Duo laughed at the memory and then peered up at Trowa. Neither of them could figure him out, although Trowa and the others understood him a lot more than Dou thought he did.  
"I'm sure he's training to become stronger."  
-Stronger! For what? Us Gundam pilots had been put out of commission for some time, now! Heck, we don't even have a place to call home accept for this rock! The earth didn't want us; the colonies rejected us... but as I always said before, to each his own.  
Trowa stood up from the platform. He was the sensible one. He always took things to heart, always thinking and waiting patiently.  
"Where're you goin?"  
Silence. He just walked right passed Duo without a second glance.  
"Company," he called back as he entered the house.  
-Huh? Company?   
Duo naturally felt that he had to see who their visitors were so he took a walk to the rail and peeked at the steps leading to the door.  
"Is Duo here?"  
The voices traveled up like feathers on the wind.   
-I don't have time for this! Would Trowa be kind to me today?  
"He's not seeing anyone today, you'll have to come back another time."  
-Not seeing anyone? Another time? Well at least he didn't let them in.   
Just as Duo was about to walk away one of the girls spotted him. She didn't point him out to the others, just stared.  
To Duo, she almost looked like Relena but it was not her. He looked closer. -No... could it be... Dorothy? But I thought...  
"Those girls must want something real bad with you."  
The glass on the door shook as Trowa closed it behind him.   
-Yeah! My head on a platter!  
"Do you ever think about the battle for earth?"  
He was silent, as always. "What for?"  
"Because it is a part of us and who we are."  
Both Trowa and Duo turned around in surprise.  
"Quatre!" Duo shouted cheerfully.  
His smile was always caring and warm. Duo watched the boy silently and felt a peace with Quatre and his smile. It had much grown since Noin's arrival.  
-Reminds me of how home used to be... simple and comfortable.  
"So what's new?"  
"Just got back from L4. Lu... tenant... that is Miss Noin was visiting a friend there."  
He sat down and began sharing his adventure with Lucrezia Noin. For some reason he felt that it had to be a secret that he was on a first name basis with her. Most of them were and it didn't last long for Quatre. He'd called her "Lucrezia" all the time on earth but after the battle... or during it was more to the point, Duo had mentioned once; it was back to "Miss Noin."  
  
-Quatre Reberba Winner. Now there's a character for you. Still a dreamer, still very affectionate. Although, I think much happened to that kind heart when his father died all that time ago. Or perhaps it was since the WASP battle. He had been quite dismal since then, lacking something. He seemed still very much kind-hearted but more.... aware of his mortality I guess.  
Duo watched as Quatre and Trowa laughed. It was unusual for them to see Trowa laugh. It was believed by all that he did it as to not hurt anyone's feelings. He was a loner. Duo sighed as he thought about Trowa and how he was such a person. -Boy I bet Catherine found -that- out the hard way. But why did he stay here in this big mansion with the rest of us? Perhaps it was so that he would never be truly alone.  
Heero spent more than a good portion of his off duty time with Miss Relena. He was a female magnet, the others chided but he stayed true to her. Duo's thoughts interfered with Quatre's tale of the venture.  
-"Yup... a real babe magnet, huh, Heero? I think it's your charming personality that does it!" Ha... yeah, right! That was hardly it.  
And then there was Wufei. He was called "Mr. Strength, honor and discipline. He was always working alone- even in battle he preferred to be alone. He and Trowa both were so very calm and disciplined and almost completely anti-social, except when it came to Sally. Then Wufei became someone who was more than disoriented by her exuberant feminine personality.  
-"Hey! There's nothing wrong with that at all! I just believe there is much more to life than being serious all the time!"  
He remembered his answer when Wufei confronted him about it some time back.  
"Duo!"  
-Huh? Oh, yeah... "What?"  
"Where'd you go? Here, this is a letter for you, I brought it back from the colony."  
-A letter? For me? Who did I know on L4?  
Duo took the letter in his hand and stared quietly at it.  
"I ran into Heero and Miss Relena coming here. They suggested and evening event... all of us. Miss Relena requested that we play for her, Trowa."  
Duo heard the words but seemed too enticed by the letter.  
"Then we shall," Trowa replied softly. "Will Noin be joining us, Quatre?"  
Duo took his mind off the letter and looked up just in time to see the blond hair and blue eyes reflect a shade of pink in the cheeks. -Was Quatre blushing? No way! Not our little Quatre!  
"Yes," he said, "she will."  
"Well, well! Looks like there's more to it then, huh Quatre!"  
As Duo kidded with him, Quatre began to blush and smile more.  
-Huh... who'd o' thought? An older woman too! Duo laughed.  
  
  
Finally the day for their evening get together came. Sally had come early to help Relena set up. It was easy enough to allow the servants to be off for the night, she said to Heero at his protest and was able to more convince him when Sally arrived.  
-"Of course, this -is- your house," she offered. Heero finally gave in after a brief moment of thought. Relena smiled and then refocused on Sally.  
"He's so.... ugh!" she said as she helped with the table settings.  
"Stubborn," Relena offered gently.  
"-Yes!" she steamed and stopped in her tracks looking at Relena. "Stubborn as a... a..."  
"Mule?"  
"Jack-ass is more like it!"  
Sally and Wufei had a major fight nearly a week and half prior to this day.  
"And you wanna know what else?"  
Relena set napkins down as nonchalantly as she could without disrupting Sally's venting.  
"He had the -nerve-... the ... the... -audacity- to say that -I- was the selfish one! ME! Can you believe it?"  
Relena tried hard not to laugh. From as much as she could gather, the whole fight had started over Sally serving Wufei a meal. It seemed silly to her.  
"After -ALL- I did for him..." she went on and continued for almost twenty more minutes before she finally slumped into a chair. Remorsefully she put her hands on her face, resting her elbows on the table.  
"There, there, Sal," Relena said rubbing her shoulders. "Perhaps this is good for you both. Gives you both a chance to step out for some air.  
Sally took in a deep breath just as Trowa entered the dining area. Passing through he stopped briefly looking at Sally, questioned Relena silently and before stepping out mentioned that guests were arriving. He looked again at Relena silently questioning if Sally's condition was due to Wufei and when Relena nodded he exited.  
  
"Hello Miss Relena."  
The voice was soft and almost pain filled.  
"Good evening Miss Noin, how was your trip? Quatre tells me you were very well rested."  
Noin looked away. "Yes, very."  
Duo watched the scene from a distant, as did Trowa and Heero. It was their opinion that Noin still harbored anger toward Milliardo Peacecraft even after all this time. It seemed to pain her to see Relena as Milliardo; Zechs passed so much resemblance to the girl.  
Duo had not opened his letter yet. He was waiting for the right moment that seemed to never come.  
"Hey Duo, you expecting anyone?"  
Heero was always sarcastically to the point.  
"Should I be?"  
"The way you're standing at the window..."  
-You too, Trowa?  
Duo did not feel like arguing with them and felt it was not the time for doing such a thing. As he stepped away, the youngest servant, Weidam, introduced Wufei into the room as just arriving. It was up to Wufei to introduce the beautiful young lady on his arm.  
"This is Kokeimi, Kokeimi," he demonstrated each of the young men, "Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton and Heero Yuy."  
As the custom called, they bowed at the young lady and then led the two into the room where she could be introduced to Miss Relena, Sally and Miss Noin.  
Sally kept her distance as to not intimidate the young lady or Miss Relena. Wufei was doing an excellent job if he was going for the "Let's make Sally jealous" routine.  
Relena put a hand on Sally's shoulder. Their eyes met and through this visual contact they spoke. Sally looked down and walked steadily toward Kokeimi. She bowed slightly and then gently- ever so politely, rubbed past Wufei who under normal circumstances would have become irate. But he was obviously irritated at this move as Relena and Sally both were pleased by it.  
-Perhaps it wasn't working after all, Relena spoke softly in her mind as she stared at Wufei's bothered face.  
"Weak," he said softly facing Sally so as to keep the words from reaching the ears of the girl on his arm.  
"Ha," Sally responded and headed toward Quatre and Lucrezia.  
  
"Well, Trowa my man, we seem to be the only two without dates," Duo remarked with a chuckle.  
"Better off," Trowa replied and walked inside.  
Duo stared at him silently and followed in behind him. It was a remark he'd most expect from Heero. Something was bothering him and Duo wanted to find out what it was.  
-Later.  
  
"Let me offer a toast,"  
Quatre stood with his glass in one hand, the other in his pocket. His eyes danced and his face glowed. There was something different about him, Duo thought. They all seemed.... different, somehow. But Duo could not place the feeling he had and decided not to go with it. He could not get used to this field without battle.  
"Then let's hear it," he offered with a smile.  
"To friends! Who could be richer than a man who knows the true worth of friendship? In battles won and lost, friendship remained." He lifted his glass, "Friends, every one of us."  
"Here, here," Trowa offered bravely.  
  
It was a wonderful moment. All five of the pilots were there, each without prior obligations, no one blurting out pains of war, just peace and happiness. All seemed to be enjoying themselves, all except Duo.  
It was Duo who was the most uncomfortable. He tried shaking it by laughing and talking but it would not go away and he figured it wouldn't until he opened the letter.  
"Duo?"  
-Huh? He turned around.  
"Is there something wrong?"  
Quatre was always so caring.  
"No, everything's great!" -Does he suspect something?  
"Is it about the letter?"  
Opportunity knocked hard on Duo's door. Did he dare answer it?  
"No, not at all!" -Liar!! He replied to the young Quatre with a smile.  
"Trowa and I are about to begin. Won't you come join us?"  
"Of course!" -Of course!  
  
  
"A letter for you. I brought it back from the colony..."  
It was a snake in Quatre's hand. How could he handle it so carelessly? Duo watched the thing slither around Quatre's hand and wrist, was he supposed to grab it?  
Quatre and Trowa stared at Duo, laughing. -Quatre...how could you do this?  
"Are you afraid?"  
-Relena? What is she doing in my dream?  
Duo turned away.  
"No," he spoke.  
"Now?"  
He turned back to see a girl he knew staring back at him.  
-Dorothy... no! She was.... no!  
"No!" he said louder.  
He had to brush that memory out of his head.  
"Duo----"  
He turned around but could see no one and still Trowa and Quatre were laughing. The snake was now at his feet instead of Quatre's hand.  
"Duo----"  
-I'm the god of Death! This snake can't hurt me!  
"You're mortal Duo!"  
It was Heero's voice.  
"Duo----"  
"Duo, you can't run away! You can't hide...."  
-Yes I can! Wait... I don't have to hide, he thought. He turned around to face Relena again. She was so unkind and unforgiving.  
"Duo----" -a distant memory? "Don't leave me---- Duo----"  
The words echoed in his head.  
"Are you afraid?"  
-No! No! "No----"  
  
"Master Duo, please!"  
Duo stared at the young man as though he did not know him. Weidam lay on the floor beneath him caught in his grip. Duo let go just as he realized that the others were in the room.  
Heero stepped in, helping him off the ground and putting distance between he and the boy servant. Duo looked around... no one was laughing. He was thankful for that.  
"You were calling out, Sir... you wanted water..."  
Duo looked down to see Quatre helping the young man pick up a tray and a pitcher of water that had been spilled all over the floor and a glass that had been sustained by the carpeting.  
"What happened," Duo asked as he rubbed his head.  
  
Heero sent the boy back to his own room. The others stared blankly at each other until Trowa offered that he'd make some hot tea and motioned for them to join him. Several minutes later they were sitting at the table waiting for the water to be done.  
"You don't remember anything?" Quatre seemed so conscious of Duo's feelings.  
Duo thought for a moment... there was nothing he could remember. No, there was one thing...  
"A voice. Calling out my name saying 'don't leave me'."  
"That's it?" Heero queried.  
For Duo, that was enough but it started flooding back into his memory. It was like a river of dreams bursting through a dam to reveal all that had been hidden away. Could he tell Quatre that he'd been seeing Dorothy Catalonia everywhere? That was so long ago. How would he feel about that? Quatre had wanted Trowa to take care of Dorothy so bad but Trowa had said that she could take care of herself. When they faced each other again on the earth, Dorothy shared a secret with Quatre. She had no intention of reliving the past but also had no intention of living the future. She attempted suicide three times before his very eyes but he knew in advance deep in his heart what she was planning. She first tried with a safety-locked gun and then again with the safety broken but without bullets and a third time with Quatre's field knife which he had dulled to the point of it warping. He took matters into his own hands at that point and had her committed into a hospital so that she could get help. It was said that she had found peace there until she escaped two months afterwards and then two days later, officials found her body washed up on a beach eight miles from the hospital. Quatre had been devastated. Could he tell his friend about his little mind tricks? -Indeed not... how -would- you feel about that, Quatre? And what did Miss Relena have to do with his dreams? He wondered silently.  
"And a snake..." he shivered. "The letter you brought back was a snake in your hand."  
"Maybe you should open the letter and see what's inside."  
"Yeah, you've been having these dreams for a couple of days, now."  
Wufei and Trowa always seemed to have the right words to say. But they were right. Duo had to read the letter.  
"Easy for you guys to say... all of you know somebody on the colonies! I only know you when you're out there!"  
  
Duo sat for a long time. He didn't want to open it but he knew he had to. It was almost noon. He could hear the others as though they were very far away.  
-Maybe the house -is- too big, he thought as he opened the sealed envelope in his hand. He skimmed it briefly to himself and then an hour later read it to the others.  
-Ahem...  
"Dearest Duo Maxwell," -fancy opening if ever I saw one! "I write these words to you in hopes that you will grant me this request." -Oh great! Just what I needed! "It is my hope that you and I should meet again for the first time." -What? "I have much I should like to share and learn from you. It seems we have been destined to meet for some time." -Again for the first time yet it seems we have been destined to meet? Whoa! This is getting scarier by the minute! "Duo Maxwell, it will come as a shock to you how much we must discuss for it was a shock to me as well." - Ahem... Duo adjusted his collar. "My request, Dear Sir, is that you grant me an interview with his royalty- the god of Death. My highest respect and most humble loyalty to your heart." He looked up at the others. "It's signed with a squiggly mark," he said.  
The others each took a look at the mark.  
"Are you going to respond?"  
Duo thought in his mind briefly. He did not want to respond.  
"I'm not sure."  
Trowa's silence and Quatre's sparkling eyes mysteriously revealed their concern for him.  
"Don't you think you ought to look into this?"  
Heero stared quietly at Duo over the page in his hand before putting it back down on the table.  
-Ah yes. Heero you are so wise.  
"Yeah, I mean, you don't even know who sent it. You said yourself that you knew no one on the colony!" Quatre was right too.  
Duo didn't know what to do.  
"Quatre, who was it that gave it to you?"  
An excellent question asked. Duo hadn't thought even to ask that much less the fact that it had been sent under what pretense? Heero was always thinking.  
"A servant of Noin's relative. I thought it strange that it would be delivered to that resident for me to give to you."  
"Strange," Trowa said and they all watched as he got up and walked out of the kitchen where they had assembled.  
-I'll say!  
  
  
3.  
THE REPLY  
  
It had been days since Duo read the letter. Finally he decided to write his reply but as fate would have it different issues kept coming up, keeping him from responding. After a period of time, he had finally found a favorable moment to do as he desired.  
--My desire is to write this reply!  
  
He, Trowa, Heero and Wufei had been up since early that morning. Heero doing his morning training, Trowa as usual on the balcony platform, Wufei cleaned many times the blade of his sword and Duo sat frazzled as he wrote his reply.  
"To Whom It May Concern..." Duo started.  
"-That's- your opening?"  
"What's wrong with my opening?" Duo exclaimed. "Then tell me, -Heero! How would -you- reply?"  
He did not even know why he bothered asking. All he got back in response was a grunt. -Typical, he thought.  
"What else did you write?"  
-Thanks, Trowa! Don't mind if I do! Ahem...  
"I feel it important that I understand more of your disposition before giving an answer to your request."  
He looked up. Heero still stared out the window; Trowa stared at the wall. Only silence filled the room.  
"Duo Maxwell," Duo said.  
"That's it---?"  
-Heero, Heero, Heero, he thought shaking his head.  
"What's the matter? Not straight enough for you Heero?"  
Duo straightened up. There was finally a voice of reason! Wufei and his words of wise.  
"What's going on, guys?"  
Enter the late sleeper Quatre. He stretched casually as he looked around at the group and then at the floor. Waded pieces of paper covered the floor. Quatre kicked them around playfully before picking one up and tossing it into the garbage barely missing Heero's head. He retreated his playfulness at Heero's unforgiving glare at him. His smile was that of a child. "Sorry," he said cheerfully.  
"Duo was just reading us his reply," Trowa volunteered wearily.  
Duo watched Quatre's tiny hands pick up the sheet of paper. He laughed at the sight. To him, Quatre's hands -were- tiny. They had even teased him that Noin's were bigger than his were. Quatre read the few written lines.  
"Short enough... to the point. Who will take it for you?"  
Heero turned away from the window long enough to consider the question before walking away to the other side of the table. Duo tossed his braid behind him and sat back in his chair.   
"Huh... hadn't thought of that," he replied with a mock sense of frustration.  
  
In the late afternoon of the same day, Duo was found lounging on the deck of the balcony.  
"Hey, Duo," Quatre announced as he stepped aside from the entryway allowing for Lucrezia's entrance.  
Duo had been relaxing, eyes closed, hands behind his head. He looked up and smiled.  
"He- Hey," he sat up cheerfully and then stood to shake Lucrezia's hand. "How're you doin'?" he asked in a jovial manner.  
"Good," she smiled back. "Quatre tells me you have a reply for L4?  
Duo turned away from them briefly and walked to the small patio table. He picked up an envelope. "Yeah," he said dryly, "but I don't know how to get it to..." He looked down at the sealed envelope.  
"I think I have an idea," she commented with a smile.  
Duo smiled. He felt a need to laugh out loud but knew not for what reason.  
"Where's Trowa?" Quatre stared all around. He was always so full of concern regardless of the circumstance.  
"Dunno! Haven't seen him," Duo answered.  
"Hmmm"  
Lucrezia stared off over the balcony at the setting sun. As her eyes lowered onto the grounds below, she spotted Heero and Relena coming up the walk.  
"Well... I have some business to take care of on L4 if you want me to take it," she offered calmly.  
"No vacation this time," Duo smiled.  
"Unfortunately not this time. Duty calls, you know!" She sighed trying hard to give off her normal smile.  
Quatre had also noticed the two coming and watched his friend intensely.  
"When are you leaving?" Duo inquired.  
"Noon tomorrow," she replied.  
"You going too, Quatre?"  
His light blush and smile was answer enough for Duo who also smiled. How funny it was to see him get so worked up over Lucrezia Noin. He hadn't felt those feelings for a long time. At this point, he didn't feel he wanted to.  
Lucrezia had begun walking back inside. At the very moment that she was out of earshot, Quatre stepped closer to Duo.  
"Is it just me or have you noticed the way she reacts to Miss Relena?"  
Indeed Duo had. For he, Trowa and Heero knew the reasoning behind those reactions. But tell Quatre if he didn't already know? That was something each of them had declined any offer of information about.  
"I'm sure it's nothing," Duo replied.  
As they entered the room, they were met by the couple who had only recently returned. Heero left Relena's side to go inspect the balcony.  
"Hello, Miss Noin,"  
Lucrezia and Relena had not quite gotten over the formalities as the others had. She looked directly at Relena briefly and then away. "Miss Relena," she replied in a choked, grim voice.  
"I'll give the letter to Quatre before he leaves," Duo called after her and Quatre as they were on their way out. He had something he wanted to change he thought before it went out to this mystery person. "So what's up you two?"  
The tension was great and the silence engulfing.   
"Where's Trowa," Heero asked.  
Duo shrugged, curious about everyone's concern for the missing young man. However, he had also inquired after him to Weidam and another servant, Blake, to no avail. "Dunno... been out all day," Duo said as he turned to Relena. "How're Sally and Wufei?"  
"Ha!" Relena's response meant that the situation was still grave.  
"How long has it been," asked Duo as he stared at the girl, still trying to figure out what was going on.  
"Long enough," Heero responded wryly.  
"Almost three weeks. I don't think it would be so hard..." she started before Heero interjected.  
"That's -enough-, Relena," he warned harshly.  
Duo stared back between the two and then offered a drink to one or the other.  
"I have to get back," Relena declined and began for the door.   
Duo watched confused. Something definitely was not right but he could not put his finger on it. He watched Relena leave and then looked back at Heero.  
"Aren't you gonna walk her home, Heero? It's dark out."  
Heero turned sharply and glared at Duo without remorse.  
"She's a big girl," he retorted and left the room.  
Duo ran down the stairs. "Relena! Can I walk you home?"  
Relena turned around and looked at Duo and then past him.  
"No, that won't be necessary," she gave with a hard tone.  
When she was out the door Duo turned around to see Heero on the floor above him walking away.  
"Something's going on here and I'm not sure I want to find out," he spoke aloud and then sighed.  
  
  
Trowa sat on top of the cement block that was the structure to the gate of the threshold. He could hear soft feet patting the sidewalk below along with the sound of muffled tears.   
"Can I walk you home, Miss Relena?"  
-Huh? Relena looked up and around but could see no one until Trowa landed directly in front of her.  
"You shouldn't be out in the dark alone," he chided with much care.  
"Y- you are," she stuttered drying her eyes.  
"I'm a man," he replied.  
Relena let out a harsh sigh. "Yes, Trowa. And so are Heero and Wufei!"  
Trowa nudged her along the path. "Don't worry so much about Sally and Wufei," he spoke lightly. "Their silence toward each other proves their affection."  
"-What?" Relena flung around to face Trowa. "How can you possibly -say- that? He showed up with a -date- to the party…-if you remember!" She stared at him, disgusted with his words. "And now…"  
"Yes, but is he WITH that date he brought?"  
Relena hated when the guys were right. She fought herself not to cry.  
"No," she replied giving in to her despair.  
"There you go."  
The two walked silently for miles. She felt the need to talk to him but wasn't sure what to say or how to approach him. He could sense her need to vent and couldn't understand why she didn't.  
"So why is Heero 'a man'," he questioned mocking her earlier statement.  
Relena laughed. -Because God -made- him that way, she thought. "Because I don't agree with the way Wufei is treating Sally and he does."  
Trowa thought that was odd. He thought it odder still that he'd even inquired of it.   
Relena felt a bit of privileged honor. She knew he did occasionally talk to the others but he chose this time to talk to her.  
"Maybe its not that he agrees with the treatment but more that they each need to work this out on their own…"  
"But…"  
He put up a hand to silence her. "Without--," he paused, "interruption or interference."  
Relena stared into his deep green eyes. His words were- in a kinder way- exactly Heero's. She'd been upset because she wanted to help and Heero told her not to interfere. "Huh…" she sounded and sighed.  
Again, in silence, they went on. It seemed to bother neither of them that they had walked far past Relena's home and now stood by the edge of the water.  
"Trowa… is it different for a man to be silent then it is for a woman? I mean… when it comes to relationships?"  
Trowa had the briefest of memories flash through his mind. Memories he quickly faded out.  
"Sometimes."  
Relena stared at the dark waters below. "How so?"  
Trowa picked up a small rock and tossed it into the waves. He sighed and then shoved his hands into his pockets.  
"Sometimes men just don't have anything to say, that's all."  
  
  
Quatre and Lucrezia had landed only moments ago. They walked out of the station and got into their rental. As they rode through the streets, Quatre held onto the letter Duo gave him. He thought about the tension between his two female friends- Lucrezia Noin and Miss Relena.  
Lucrezia already had reservations at a hotel for connecting single rooms. When they arrived the keys were waiting.  
"Dinner tonight? My treat?"  
Quatre grinned. He liked when she offered to treat- to him it was a sign of stability. However he never allowed her to foot the bill. Sometimes to her disappointment but he always made it up to her by allowing her to open doors for him and on occasion, cook a meal. Lately none of the girls were doing -any- kind of cooking due to Sally and Wufei's tragedy.  
"I never let you treat," he joked.  
"C'mon, Quatre!"  
He thought about it seriously for the moment. Tonight he would let her.  
"Promise?" She asked knowing that he always promised but always insisted on taking the bill anyway.  
"I will leave my wallet here," he assured her.  
She was so happy that she giggled and hugged him. He laughed at her child like manner.  
  
An hour and a half had passed. Quatre and Lucrezia sat at the table and laughed as they reminisced about their memories on earth. Finally Quatre could hold it no longer.   
The waiter had just cleared their plates and left fresh coffee before them. He took a breath, a drink, a gulp and then looked into her dark purple eyes.  
"What's up between you and Miss Relena?"  
Lucrezia swallowed hard on her drink of coffee. It burned going down her throat and she coughed harder, still.  
"-What-?"  
Quatre stared at her tenderly as she wiped her watery eyes. Lucrezia stared back. -Does he not know? The guys had truly kept it to themselves?- "Check please,' she called and a moment later they were out the door.  
"Lucrezia, I'm sorry for asking but she is my friend too and I can't stand to see the tension between the two of you!"  
Thoughts scurried around in her head leaving traces of deception and anger in her eyes. After a short drive back to the hotel they both ended up in her room. Quatre sat on the chair and she on the floor by the bed.  
"How much do you know?"  
Quatre stared blankly at her. -How much is there?- He shook his head at her to indicate that he knew nothing.  
"Remember the first peace-fest?" Quatre nodded. " Two days after that eventful day..." the memory came washing in. The whole thing was so vivid; fresh in her mind as though it had happened only moments ago. "I had just left my house on my way to see Her Excellency at the Justice Hall... only... I never made it. I had been stuck in traffic and was forced to take a detour.  
"I turned left on some street and I saw a man walking. Something told me to stop and so I did. I stopped and got out of my car and went up to the man. It was him." Quatre raised a brow at her. "Milliardo Peacecraft," she stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Only now he was officially Zechs Marquise. 'Peacecraft' was no longer an option for him."  
Lucrezia went back in time as she told Quatre of her memory- her encounter that put tension between her and Relena.  
  
"Zechs its me!... Noin!"  
Zechs walked past her and stopped suddenly turning to her. His dress was still high uniform and his demeanor still cold.  
"I know who you are... or rather, who you were."  
Noin stared unbelieving at him. His words baffled her.  
"What do you mean, Zechs? I'm still the same person!"  
He had only begun walking away from her and at her words turned forcefully back to her.  
"You left my side, Noin! When I went in to fight Wing Zero, you -left-."  
-Was that the way he remembered it?- "As -I- recall, Milliardo Peacecraft disappeared after the battle was over! It's been a year, Zechs! -What- is still holding you in the past?"  
He turned from her and walked away.  
-Tell me Zechs... did you know that I loved you? - A single tear fell from her eye as she watched him go.  
It was not until six months later that she saw him again. He showed up just as the anti-WASP group was being formed. Innocent people were being murdered senselessly and the people were finally having enough. Noin had just received a letter asking her to become part of a specials force to over take WASP. With pride she accepted but before she could make her scheduled arrival on board the crew, Zechs played a major role in her delayed arrival.  
  
"Lucrezia," he said as he held her face in his hands. "Do senseless, needless deaths have to involve yours?"  
Six months ago he scolded her for leaving his side. Now he lovingly held her; embraced her and at one point had even kissed her gently.  
"Zechs... if I die, I am dying for what I believe in! Can't you understand that?"  
He looked deep into her eyes- almost peering into her soul. "Come with me. We'll go find our own home, our own place to live... war free- in peace," he offered.  
He didn't seem to hear her words.  
"Zechs... that is why I -must- fight. Don't you understand?"  
He dried her tears and held her close to him.   
"Noin, I can't bare the thought of losing you again. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Please... come with me..."  
She looked up at him sadly.  
"I can't," she cried. "My battle is here."  
"Then perhaps this will encourage you." His words were now stone cold, as were his eyes and his expressions. In a single, deft move he slapped her with brute force causing her to stumble and almost fall completely decked.  
"Zechs... I loved you," she stammered as she backed away.  
At that moment Relena came bolting in. She had no idea who was behind the closed door of the newly established military conference room.  
She looked into the eyes of a man who once called himself her brother and then turned to face the woman who was now to be ranked in yet another battle for peace. Lucrezia held her cheek and stared into Relena's eyes.  
"Consider that the sweetest kiss of death that you'll ever receive," Zechs said coldly. "For when your body is so full of bullets you'll wish it was only a slap in the face."  
Relena wide-eyed faced the man.  
"Milliardo... why have you... what have you done," she demanded.  
He held her by the shoulders and stared at her. Her eyes were wide as she focused in on his gaze. This was the first time she'd seen him since White Fang. His grip on her was tight yet she could sense that he wouldn't hurt her, as it appeared that he had done to her newly re-assigned soldier. The eyes he looked into could never be his; they were truly innocent; sad yet very true to their calling.   
"-You-" he stressed, "are a 'Peacecraft'. I am no longer."  
Two days later, Lucrezia entered a room and then left only to return moments later in order that she might face the fear that stood there.  
"I loved you so much that I stepped away from Peace Million to be at your side."  
"A terribly difficult decision I'm sure," he spoke. The sound of his voice was chilling. It held no emotion or care in it.  
"You don't get it do you... Mr. Milliardo?"  
His calmness flared into anger. "I -told- you I am Zechs Marquise-- No longer a 'Peacecraft'," he scolded angrily.  
"You know what your problem is? You can't get over the guilt of Treize's death and the fact that your plan did not go to your expectations!"  
Zechs stood in front of her now, scowling down at her. She remained unnerved. This time she was not going to back away or flinch giving him the satisfaction of intimidating her.  
"Are you going to hit me again, Zechs? Go ahead," she turned her jaw to him opposite the side he struck two days prior. "I'm feeling a little lopsided."  
Zechs stared at the ruthless soldier she seemed to have become. He stepped away from her.  
"Poor, poor soul. Zechs... you were born a 'Peacecraft and regardless of what you call yourself now... you will -Die- a 'Peacecraft'!"  
He stepped in front of her again this time with his hand raised. In midswing he stopped at the sound of a locked trigger.  
"I wouldn't if I were you," the voice said. Noin recognized it unmistakably as Heero's.  
Zechs dropped his hand and looked up to see three young men with their guns pointed at him.  
"Miss Noin," Trowa offered as he pulled her away from Zechs. Once he was out of the room with her, Duo followed leaving Heero alone with his forever opponent.  
  
"What were you doing in there? The battle is out there!" Duo's eyes were tender as he pointed outward. And though he rebuked her she could see that he cared.  
"Sometimes battles need to be fought inside before they can be fought outside," Trowa remarked. His words echoed indelibly in the confines of her mind.  
She remembered that it had been unclear as to what exactly had transpired between Heero and Zechs that morning. The one thing that was for certain, she knew, had remained to be said until later that evening.  
"I would not have killed him," Heero said cooly to Noin. She let out a long sigh. "It would have killed the Princess."  
The memory of the soft glow in his eyes at those words and the ones that followed stuck out clearly. She looked up at him over the fire they had built outside their camp area. "You still love her, don't you?"  
He was silent for a long period before speaking, staring into the trees of darkness. "I always have," he replied and lay down to sleep.  
  
Lucrezia stared into a dark world. She wasn't sure when but she had gotten up from the floor and moved to the window. "I had asked the guys to not say anything to you or to anyone else. Even Relena, I think, was unaware of our last confrontation, mine and... Zechs'." She sighed deeply. "The only tension that is between us is that I can't look at her without seeing him. He fractured my jaw the day he hit me. A hairline fracture that I can still feel to this day."  
She turned around to face Quatre who stared blankly at the comforter on the bed.  
"Why couldn't you tell me, Noin?"  
-That's why- she thought at the sound of the name he chose.  
"What would you have done, Quatre?"  
He stood up and stared at her. "I wouldn't have hit you." Her eyes were tear-stained red just the same as he could feel his own. "Good night, Lucrezia." He walked to the adjoining door and carefully opened first hers, then his.  
"Quatre," she called. He turned to her. "I'm sorry," she whispered as tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.  
He acknowledged her apology and entered his own room for the night.  
  
It had now been two days since their discussion. Lucrezia tended to her military duties- her reason for being there, while Quatre remained in doors. It had been a year since their banishment and slowly people were learning to live and let go. He was welcomed only by few but for him, it was enough.   
He stared off into the distance from his window and then decided to call home.  
"Duo here, what's your mission in life?" He answered.   
Quatre looked on the screen and smiled. He always seemed to be without care or concern. His manner was that of a relaxed nature.  
"Quatre! Hey, how's it goin' out there!"  
"Good... and you?" -Why couldn't you guys just tell me- he thought silently.  
"Everything's great over here! Uh... well," he removed his hat and scratched his head, "kinda..."  
He leaned in a little closer to his screen. Quatre questioned for the meaning and then felt sorry that he had asked.  
"Wufei and Sally were on the verge... very close to getting back together," he gleamed and then sighed. It had almost been a month since they had split up. They were very close, he thought. "But then Sally found out that Heero and Relena weren't talking and now she is upset with Relena... ugh! Women... I tell you!"  
"Yeah," Quatre agreed.  
"Oh! And get this," Duo smiled devilishly, "Heero is upset because the night before you left she spent half of it with Trowa down by the water!"  
Quatre's eyes widened slightly. He tried hard to hide his surprise.  
"So what happened?  
Duo laughed and fitted his cap back on and leaned back. "Don't know! Trowa -and- Relena claim that nothin' happened but Heero... well he's a little reluctant to believe it! But they are all acting like... goofballs over here! It's probly better that you are out there with Lucrezia than being here with -these- people!" He laughed his charming little laugh.  
-Hardly- Quatre thought.  
"We'll be back soon. Oh, Lucrezia took your letter and it has been taken from the home of her relative where the first was originally sent so we'll see what happens next."  
Duo sighed. He'd almost forgotten about the letter but at least he wasn't still having nightmares about it!  
"Alright then... so we'll see you... what? Couple days?"  
Quatre nodded, then after saying their farewells closed communication. He couldn't be mad at Duo or Trowa and especially not Heero. They'd only done what she asked. After all... he did remember a time when he did a similar thing for Relena. -But he found out the next day, he thought to himself. -No matter... it was the same thing, he consoled quietly.  
  
Lucrezia came into her room. It was late and she hadn't seen Quatre all day. Her feet were killing her and her body hurt from standing most of the day. It wasn't until she reached for the light that she traced the hint of a familiar and very comforting aroma. She turned on the lights that had been set on dim. As she did so, Quatre lit two candles and stood up.  
He walked over to his friend and put his hands on her shoulders, closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. Only a second passed that he pushed her away slightly and looked at her.  
"I understand why you did not tell me and I want you to know that I harbor no anger at you for wanting to keep this as quiet as possible."  
Lucrezia began to cry.  
"Do you even realize what you've just done for me?" She hugged him and stayed thee in his arms for a long period not wanting anything more than to just feel his warm embrace.  
Finally she let go and Quatre led her to the chair so that she could eat a little something before going to sleep.  
"Prime rib! Mmmm," she said.   
As they ate they talked about her day and his before calling it a day.  
  
Another day passed and still another until it was her last day there. She had been much thrown together with a young cadet named Seita Bare' and had inquired of her background. Later on during the day that she had requested the information, her supervisor, General Enrico Gardina, gave her all the stats filed on the young girl and then handed her over to Noin as the girl's new commander.  
"But sir..." she objected politely.  
"Consider her an understudy, Noin." He regarded her with much delight. "She's a good soldier, you said so yourself! Anyway, you'll need someone to take your place when your work is done here on L4."  
She had felt so honored at the responsibility. And though she did not teach at an acadamy on Repudiation, she now had someone to train.  
That evening before their take off the next day, she and Quatre sat down with the young girl, explaining different issues that might come up on the Rock.  
Seita was enchanted by Quatre's eyes and smile. She wanted him to look at her as a brave soldier, the way he looked at Leiutenant Noin.  
"If you'll excuse me, Ladies," he stood up and took leave to the mens room.  
No sooner had he finished his business when he felt a barrel at the back of his head. He knew better not to move despite the warning he had just received.  
"You are a Gundam Pilot, are you not?"  
Quatre remaind calm and still. "I used to be," was all he gave.  
The perpetrator was not easily undone.  
"Oh no... no, no, no... once a Pilot... -Always- a pilot."  
He felt the trigger lock and pull. Had there been a bullet...  
"Bang! You're dead!" Quatre could not recognize the voice nor could he distinguish whether male or female. "You -WILL- deliver this message for me," the person said deliberately disguising the voice. An envelpoe was handed slowly over to him and even slower he grabbed it. "His Majesty -WILL- grant me an interview."  
Seconds later there was no one in the room. The only proof that anyone had been there was the letter in his hand marked "Duo Maxwell."  
  
Quatre stood in his room staring out the window and then paced around.  
-"Quatre, you look as though you've seen a ghost," Lucrezia had teased upon his return to the table. He looked into the mirror, unsure of what he'd find there. He found it... nothing.  
-"You -WILL- deliver this messge..."  
Dropletts of sweat formed on his brow. He hadn't told Lucrezia becasue he didn't want to worry her. He decided to take this up differently and so did by stuffing the envelope in another envelope supplied to each room as the hotel stationary. After he walked it down to the main desk, he handed it to the clerk.  
"Could you please see that this gets to 324?"  
The man took it and wrote the number down and watched Quatre walk away.  
  
The next morning Lucrezia knocked on Quatre's door.  
"You ready?"  
He grabbed his bag and headed down with her and Seita. His nerves unravled as he watched her sign out and then receive an envelope with her room number on it. With ease she opened it and on the way out handed it to Quatre. He took it with much guilt of what he'd hidden from her.  
A day later he handed the letter to Duo after explaining the truth of how it was received.  
Lucrezia had left Seita with Sally for a physical and joined Quatre and the others. Duo stared at the letter recalling his last dream before he wrote the reply. Trowa sat on the platform facing the group, Heero leaned against the rail behind Duo and Wufei stood by the patio table, arms folded in front of him.  
"Why didn't you tell me, Quatre?"  
He could tell she was hurt. Of course she was, he hid the truth from her.  
"Number one, what would you have done? I didn't even -see- anyone!"  
"And two?" she glared.  
"Seita Bare'," he announced.  
He was right. She took on a lot of responsibility taking over as her commander.  
"He's right, Lucrezia. How much should she know?"  
Lucrezia looked up at Trowa. He was very wise when he wasn't watching the sun set or taking walks alone.  
"So this... person held agun to your head..."  
"And said 'You WILL deliver a message... his Majesty WILL grant me an interview." Quatre replied to her interrogation.  
Finally after all discussion ceased, he opened the envelope andunfolded the page. He sighed.  
"Well?" Heero stared at Duo with his arms now folded in front of him as well.  
Duo handed it backward to Heero and looked over at Quatre. Quatre stood with one arm across his chest and his chin rested on the fist of the one bent upward.  
"You said they pulled the trigger?"   
Quatre regarded Duo's inquisition with much confusion. "Yeah," he replied trying hard to push the memory away.  
"What did they say," Heero asked as he handed the page to Wufei. Wufei then examined teh words and handed the sheet to Quatre. He studied the words and his eyes widened. He now seemed to want to cry. He read the words and looked up at Duo.  
"Bang, you're DEAD!!!"  
  
  
4.  
WAKE UP FROM THE BREAK-UPS  
  
Relena entered the room uninvited. Wufei sat in a chair; legs crossed reading a paper. Heero sat at the desk writing and going over his work. Periodically he checked another page. Quatre, Trowa and Duo she could see on the deck.  
"Ahem," she cleared her throat intentionally to gain attention.   
Heero did not move from his work and Wufei turned the page.  
"What is it -this time-, woman?"  
His tone caused her to want his throat between her hands. Immediately she reproached herself for having such tendencies toward someone she looked upon much as a close friend. -Wufei? Close?   
"Leave her alone, Wufei." Heero still worked, pen in hand going over this information and that.   
"I should think she's here to apologize," he chided in a shallow manner.  
"That's enough, Wufei."  
Relena could sense that Heero was becoming agitated by Wufei's remarks.  
"No, he's right, Heero." Her voice was soft and calm. "I have come to apologize to you both."  
"A week of silence too much for you? That's lame," Wufei persisted much to Heero's constant warning.  
In three large steps he was standing in front of Wufei holding his collar as was Wufei holding his. The other three had rushed in when they heard Heero yell for Wufei to leave Relena alone. Relena stood braced for the action.  
"You are weak, Heero."  
Heero let go of Wufei and turned to Relena. Her eyes were soft. He -had- missed her.  
"Then perhaps your -strength- is the reason you and Sally won't get back together!"  
He walked over to Relena and carefully took in the sight of her. She was so beautiful. He always took too long in these kinds of situations but it was just his way. He took her hand and led her out of the room.  
Duo and Quatre watched and then turned to Wufei.  
"-What-!" he yelled.  
"Nothin," Duo gleamed, "just watchin' the show!"  
Quatre turned around to see that Trowa had just jumped off the balcony. When Duo realized the same thing he slapped his forehead and mumbled. "Can't he ever use the stairs? I tell you," he turned to Quatre, "he and Heero -Have- to be related -some- how!"  
  
"Princess... why do you insist on going against my words?"  
Relena hung her head. "I just wanted to help..."  
Hero gently lifted her chin so that his eyes could meet hers.  
"Relena... sometimes people fight and they just need to be left alone. This isn't the world alliance where you have to work alone to ensure peace!"  
Tears flooded her eyes. Without that role she felt useless and expressed these feelings to him. He held her close to him.  
"I love you, Princess."  
Relena wanted so much to look into his eyes. It was the first time in all the years she'd known him that he spoke the words. It had been hinted many times but never had the words come out. He gently nudged her away from him and looked into her violet colored eyes. "I always have and I always will."   
  
Relena opened her eyes. The sun broke through the curtains displaying long, thin, golden beams of light into the room. She began to cry almost instantaneously. It had only been a dream. She and Heero still had not made up and still he had not spoke the three words she most desperately longed to hear. "I do love you, Heero Yuy," she cried into her pillow.  
  
Sally had just folded and put away the rest of her laundry. The morning was already hot and muggy. She left her room and walked to the comfort of the coolest part of the house. Oddly enough, it was only accessible by going outside and through the garage to the cellar. "I'm gonna have to do something about that," she thought softly as she picked out some canned fruits.  
She returned back inside only to find Lucrezia and Seita standing on her porch. Seita had her arm wrapped but the bandages didn't stop the bleeding.  
"What happened," she inquired with much care as she ushered Seita into a small examining room. Lucrezia followed silently, much annoyed.  
"Field training," she replied.  
Sally looked up at Lucrezia with a stern face. Lucrezia matched it with an intolerable rolling of the eyes. Sally could tell she was infuriated at the girl. She washed off the wound, dabbed it with ointment and then bandaged the girl up.  
"Wow! You're good!" Seita said as she inspected the bandages.  
Sally nodded her thanks and watched as she headed for the door. Instead of exiting she ran straight into Quatre.  
"I'd probly make a better door than entry way, huh?" He smiled at her and then walked over to Lucrezia, giving her a kiss on the cheek and doing the same to Sally.  
"Field training?" Sally stared highly disbelieving Seita's former statement.  
"Tell you later," Lucrezia brushed her hand as though to end the conversation. She was   
-really- annoyed by it all.  
"Am I interrupting?" Quatre asked politely.  
"No! Not at all!" Sally replied. "Anything I can do for you or help you with?"  
Quatre rubbed his head. "Well... kind of..." he looked at each of the women with a innocent "please, I'll beg if I have to" look in his eyes.  
"Quatre..." Lucrezia questioned knowing that he had something either really devious to ask or something that no one else would do.  
"Maybe one of you... could -talk- to Relena... you know... get her and Heero at least -standing- in the same room together?"  
Sally backed out of that request far quicker than she had ever backed out of anything that she could remember.  
"I've tried that, Quatre! She won't budge!"  
Lucrezia eyed Sally with much compassion. She had to get over her own flaws sooner or later. "I'll talk to her Quatre," she replied sweetly. She smiled at Sally and then at Quatre who seemed impressed with her words.  
Sally returned the gesture. "See you guys later," she called as she watched them leave and turned back to her table and laughed to herself. She reflected on the thought of the look Seita was wearing when she ran into Quatre. Seita was trying to act like Lucrezia.  
After her table was cleared she moved to exit the room but instead was greeted by an undecided guest. "Undecided" because she was quite unsure of the nature of the visit and "guest" because everyone was welcome in her home.  
"Wufei," she said nervously. He stood where he was eyeing her relentlessly. His contact with her, though only visual, made her uneasy. "What can I do for you?"  
As she walked passed him, he grabbed her by the arm gently and turned to her.  
"You are such a delicate piece of work," he spoke softly.  
-O-Kay! She stared up at him unbelieving of his words. -Where does this come in? "Am I dreaming?" Her eyes revealed that this was a totally legitimate question in her mind. "Cause if I am I don't have time for this."  
He shook his head at her.  
"No." He sighed and let go of his grip on her. "I just came to tell you that even that you -are- just a weak female, I'm glad that I know you."  
Sally was confused deeply now and laughed to show how absurd this was to her. "Listen, Wufei... I have no clue of -What- you are doing here but I have work to do and..."  
Before she could finish he took her in his arms without warning and pressed gently his lips to hers. Sally fought only for a moment before giving in to her true feelings. They had somehow redeemed themselves to each other in the passing weeks. Finally he stepped away from her and beheld her loveliness for only a moment.  
"Wu--fei?" Her eyes were questioning more than his actions. "Are you feeling ok?"  
He glared at her but only for the briefest of seconds.  
"My strength has kept me from you, Sally. My pride has destroyed my sense of honor."  
Sally could see that he truly did see this as a weak moment for himself. She did not know whether to rejoice or cry! He took her hand and put it on his chest.  
"Do you feel my heart?" Indeed she did. "This is the heart of a foolish man. A man who found his weakness in his strength..."  
"...and who will find his strength in that weakness," she finished.  
Their eyes locked. They stood like that for uncounted minutes before he took her hand and kissed it gently and then turned to walk away. He stopped shy of the exit and turned around to look at her.  
"And you are forgiven, Woman."  
Rage jumped exceedingly high before it was hydrated by the memory of his kiss.  
"And so are you, Love," she replied.   
He left her there to do her work. She continued happily but not even a day later they were at it again.  
"It's normal," Quatre laughed. "Now if only we could get Heero and Relena..."  
Trowa and Lucrezia laughed.  
  
  
"How's Duo," Relena asked.  
Quatre sighed. He twiddled his thumbs. It had only been a few days since he'd received the reply of his own reply.  
"He's a good actor. You know Duo! He never lets the bad show through!"  
Relena raised a brow, nodding knowingly. That was definitely Duo.  
"Does he have any idea who sent it?"  
"No," Quatre stated as he relinquished the memory of the gun. He had been quite aware of Duo's nocturnal stirrings. He'd often seen Duo's light pressing the bottom of the door trying to illuminate the darkness on the other side or that he went for a walk or jog- a recent thing for him.   
Quatre chose not to offer any of this information to Relena. Nor did he offer that sometimes he could hear Duo and Heero talking late nights in the study as they'd been best friends from forever. It was good that Duo had -some- one to talk to. But again, revealing this to Relena was something he felt Heero or Duo should do.  
The two were silent. Quatre leaned on the rail of the balcony and Relena on the table, both staring at the same speck on the floor.  
"Heero will be home soon. He's been getting off work early, lately."  
"Hmmm," Relena sighed. Should she stay and wait for his return? Her dream came flashing back into her mind. -The dream of weeks past. No... just a few days, she thought silently.  
"Will you join us for dinner? Lucrezia's coming over later..."  
Relena entertained the thought in her mind but declined respectfully. "No, actually Sally asked me to stop by later and so I am going over there."  
Quatre accepted her polite refusal just before he noticed Heero in the room behind her. He grew calmly silent hoping not to reveal his secret.  
"Well.. I must be going," she managed as she turned around.  
Quatre held his breath as she was still oblivious to Heero's presence in the room. "Um.. ok, but are you sure?"  
Relena turned around, a smile had crossed her face. "Thank you, yes," she replied.  
Heero had his back to them searching the bookshelf that served as a wall in front of him. He had seen Relena on the balcony with Quatre. It had been some time since they'd had a -peaceful- conversation. He did miss her. But -who- would be the first to apologize? He thought about Wufei's approach to apology.  
"Hmmm," he thought as he watched them briefly and then continued his search for a book.  
Quatre followed her inside still holding his breath as he quickly positioned himself between her and Heero.  
"Leaving so soon, Princess?"  
Quatre released his lungs of the enclosed air..  
Relena stopped so suddenly that he almost ran into her. She stared across the room at Heero. It had now been a weak and a half for -them- that they were unsettling in this dispute. -Sally and Wufei -are- back together... is it time for us, Mr. Yuy? "Yes. I have other engagements to attend elsewhere," she gave and then continued her previous course for the door.   
Quatre remained as he was, hands on his hips as he watched Relena exit and heard no objection from Heero.  
"Will you guys get over it already?"  
His voice was so harsh that Relena held onto the frame of the door and Heero actually turned to face him.  
"Why are you both still -Acting- this way? Sally and Wufei's fight is -Over-! Both of you need to just... -GROW UP-!"  
Relena felt tears forming in her eyes. Had she ever seen- visually for herself- Quatre this upset? -Once.  
Heero looked at Relena who had now let go of the frame and began walking off. His instinct was to follow her but he decided to let her go. He watched Quatre storm out of the room, forcefully making his way past Trowa and Duo. The two stepped aside as they took note of his apparent anger.  
"What's wrong with -him-?" Duo asked.  
Heero turned away.  
"Perhaps it has to do with Relena," Trowa declared his suspicion of the barely social girl they passed on the stairs.  
Heero gave up his search leaving the room still full of the tension that had previously occurred.  
  
  
"Relena, you have to let go! One of you has to budge," Sally said tenderly.   
Lucrezia sat beside the tear stricken Relena and rubbed her back gently.  
"Why does it have to be me?" she cried. "My heart feels so completely desolate-even more so now that I am able to -see- him! When he left earth to come here... I didn't have to look at him."  
Sally and Lucrezia looked at each other. Both were sympathetic toward Relena's feelings. Lucrezia, finally being able to not see Zechs every time she looked at her, sighed heavily.  
"Relena..." she said softly, "-Why are you guys fighting?"  
Relena took the tissue that Sally handed her. -Why? "I don't know. Partly because I wanted to talk to you," she looked at Sally, "and Wufei-the other part because I spent half that same night with Trowa and Heero thinks there was more to it than what actually went on."  
  
Duo stared confused at Heero and the whole situation at hand.  
"Heero... why -Are- you and Relena not speaking?"  
Heero sat on a windowsill. One leg hung over the edge, the other was bent near his chest with his elbow resting on his knee.  
Trowa, Quatre, Duo and Wufei all stared at him. Each from their own place in the room with their own perception of this pointless conflict between the two.  
Heero considered Duo's words. -Why were he and Relena not speaking? He looked across the room at Trowa who stared out the open door with his hands shoved in his pocket and then turned to face the others. Duo leaned against the sofa, Wufei sat back in a chair and Quatre stood near Heero's desk with his arms folded across his chest.  
The truth of the matter was that he wanted to blame Trowa and Wufei for it. The heart of the matter was that he had only himself to blame. Again he looked at Trowa.  
"What went on between you two," he asked, ignoring his rather acrimonious tone.  
  
Relena flinched slightly at the memory of Heero's words that night.   
-"Nobody gets home at O-dark-thirty without there being something to do with the time." "Heero... you are just determined to make -Something- out of nothing, aren't you?" "No!"   
"Yes, You are! You are Resolved to think the worst of Everything!"   
"I am NOT resolved! Just tell me the truth, Relena. What went on between you two last night?"-  
She stared out the window. Seita Bare' was practicing her fencing with a colleague of Lucrezia's.  
"Nothing," Relena said wistfully. "All we did was talk about my worrying and," facing Sally once more, "you and Wufei. Then he talked to me about Heero and myself and then walked me home. But Heero refused to believe it."   
Lucrezia stared at Sally, both silent.  
  
"You can believe what you want, Heero. All she did was talk about -You."  
Wufei stood up resisting the urge to stretch  
"Why do you insist on holding onto this, Heero? It's -not- worth it."  
"Yeah," Heero seethed angrily, "That's why it took you a -month- to apologize to Sally, right?"  
"I -Faced- my weakness, Heero. Maybe it's time you faced -Yours. Just remember... -I- apologized to -Her-."  
"This is not -about- you, Wufei!"  
"Isn't it? You scolded Relena in front of -Both- of us because -she- wanted to help..."  
"-YOU- wanted to be left alone," Heero shouted.  
"Perhaps if you would have let her say her piece to me then she -wouldn't have had to say it to Trowa-!"  
"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU, SHUT- UP!"  
Heero and Wufei glared at each other. Quatre now stood with his hands on his hops, staring in all discontent. His animosity was rather alarming, even to himself.  
"Wufei... -You- cannot chastise Heero and Heero... you don't even know -WHY- you aren't talking to Miss Relena." His voice trembled. The servants had heard him for sure, even that they were two floors down.  
  
"If anything," Relena protested, "he should find better things to be angry at, like Duo's letter! Someone is apparently after him and he's so involved in not talking to me!"  
She had a point. However accurate that point was, Lucrezia -was- aware of Heero's concern for Duo. Perhaps -that- was the reason he had not confronted Relena yet.  
"How come -You- don't go after him, Miss Relena?"  
-Go after him? Could she do that?  
  
"Relena is a strong person. She can take a -Hell of a Lot more- than you think, Heero." Trowa confronted Heero only inches away. "She is someone of great consequence... even in Your world."  
Heero felt the urge to hit Trowa but a vision of Relena and a memory forced him to back off.  
-"Why must everything that happens to you end in or be the result of violence?"  
"Trowa's right, Heero." Duo still remained calm, even through the yelling he held no visual look of excitement or anger. He knew that Wufei or Trowa would not battle it out with Heero. "Someone needs to make the first move."  
Sally and Lucrezia stared hard at Relena.  
"Why can't it be you?"  
  
  
Days passed. Lucrezia stared off into the distance of space. She'd been working hard, training Seita and completing her missions to L4 as required. She was still a soldier even that there was no war, but most on Repudiation were. Even the guys worked at the military establishment when they weren't doing something else, like Duo being out at the miner's plant.  
"I'm sorry I never had dinner with you the other day."  
Quatre didn't want to -remember- the other day. There was so much hostility in that place and its great size had suddenly seemed to decrease.  
"No big deal..." he replied, "we had our hands full anyway."  
Lucrezia remembered Relena's tears that night and then remembered her own when she cried for Zechs.  
"You know what the problem is? At your place, I mean," she glanced at Quatre smiling.  
"What?"  
"There's too much testosterone there! And I really think that Trowa needs a trip to outer space and Wufei needs some... -quality time- with Sally!"  
Quatre was confused. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated on Lucrezia's words. "You don't mean..."  
"Who are they going to talk to if no one's around?"  
Quatre considered the notion. "It will never work. How long can we stay away and how will we know?"  
Lucrezia's gleam became gloom. He was right. And they couldn't tie them up in the same room because Heero would just wriggle his way out of it.  
"Damn! How are we going to get them to talk?"  
Quatre shrugged.  
  
Duo stared at his letter. The words bounced out at him. He didn't know what to do. There was no one on L4 that he knew personally, he didn't recognize the writing and couldn't figure out who would do this. -Sigh- For the first time he felt peace from the hostility that had been lingering about the huge place. It was a most welcomed silence. His concentration had slowly decreased since this new letter arrived almost a week ago.  
-Huh! They must all be out, he thought to himself.  
Just as he sat down at his desk, an interruption occurred. He looked up as the door opened after being slightly knocked on. He stood up.  
"Hello Duo."  
"Relena," he smiled.  
They stared at each other briefly before either moved. He walked over to her and took her hands in his and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  
"How are you?"  
She conjured up her bravest look of armor and failed miserably at presenting it. She burst into tears and tried hard to control herself. She could not.  
Duo didn't know what to do. He guided her to his desk and sat on the bed opposite her.  
"What's wrong?" He handed her a box of tissues. His concern as she cried was that she was going to hyperventilate and pass out.  
"I don't know what to do!" she cried. "Nobody is talking to me and I need advice!"  
-Is there something I'm missing, here? And how old are these people? He referred to her comment wondering if the others were -trying- to get her to talk to Heero by ignoring her.  
"Relena... I don't know what's going on but I do know this... Sometimes a battle has to be fought inside before it can be fought outside." He remembered Trowa's words well.  
Relena looked up at him, wiping her tears. Trowa had said something very much near to that statement the night they last talked. "In order to figure out your external environment, you have to consider the internal first."  
"Duo..." she sniffed.  
"Go to him, Relena."  
She stood up boldly. Duo followed in a gentler fashion; easy lifting himself off the bed.  
"Thank you," she said and hugged him just before exiting his presence.  
"You're welcome," he called out.  
It pained him to know that his best friend would let it go for so long. When Relena first came to Repudiation, Heero had been far beyond rage.  
-"She doesn't -Belong- here!" He yelled.  
"Heero! She was rejected, just like we were!"  
It was pointless arguing with him.  
"We were rejected by -Her- orders!"  
That was true. Duo tried immense measures to make Heero see it differently.  
"Perhaps she'd been rejected by those same orders!"-  
Every time Duo had a point, Heero found it convenient to leave. It wasn't until the night before Heero and Relena met up again that Duo understood why Heero had been so upset.  
-"Why is it that you don't want her here, Heero?"  
Heero for the first time had no debate to impart. He sighed, Duo remembered.  
-"Duo. It's not that I don't want her here. If I could have it my way she'd wake up every morning in my bed -Mrs. Relena YUY. She is a 'Peacecraft' and deserves to be where peace -IS- and not where it is -Implied-."  
Duo sighed. "You should tell her how you feel."  
"I love her, Duo."  
-Whoa! Wa-it a minute! "Heero... are you feeling ok?"  
Heero's look was stern, grim and carried much irritation.  
"Guess so," Duo said confused. "If you love her so much... -Why- have you ignored her these past two weeks?"  
"Because I was hoping she'd give up and leave here..."  
"You were -hoping- she'd leave -You-, Heero."  
They both sighed.  
"Yeah... perhaps that was -my- mistake."  
Duo laughed to hid his frustration... it didn't.  
"No Heero, Your mistake was -not- hoping she'd leave," he met Heero's visual contact insipidly, "your mistake -IS- keeping your feelings from her."  
  
-And still you have not told her, have you Heero?  
He watched Relena leave and then closed the door walking back to his desk. -Now..., he studied the piece of paper in front of him.  
  
Hours later, Relena sat behind Heero's desk. The study on the second floor was bigger than her bedroom at home, even -with- the master bathroom. The doors to the balcony had been opened and two of the servants were dusting and cleaning around her. She thought back to when she had first met Heero.  
It had been six years ago. She had spotted him lying on the shore s though he'd just been washed up. -He had, she thought. He was wearing a military uniform and his only words to her were "Did you see?" And look at them now.  
She waited for quite some time to show Heero her newly acquired skill. It was a secret that she had managed to keep silent regardless of the pains she went through in learning it and the distractions that came about during certain periods. A secret she had managed to hold on to for quite some time.  
Lost in thought, she refocused her mind when Heero entered the room. He stopped just inside of the entryway making brutal eye contact with her and then fully entered the large room. Relena watched him intently, waiting to seize her moment. Butterflies began to grow in her stomach. She could feel her pulse starting to race. The moment was drawing near. He walked over to the window and shut it and sent the workers away.  
"You're at my desk," he spoke to her without emotion.  
"How early do I have to get up to get one passed -You- Heero?"  
His gaze upon her was cold. He was not thrilled by her remark.   
"I'm going to challenge you, Heero." He raised a brow, intrigued. "To a match,". Now he was engrossed by her words. "A mission... if you will." He awaited her further explanation but instead of giving more, she pushed away from her position at the desk and stood up.   
Heero fought a losing battle and stared opened jaw- gawking at her appearance. He could not believe his eyes.  
"Close your mouth, Heero," she said in a rather reserved tone. It was a soothing tone to her considering how earlier that day she had been crying like a baby in Duo's room.  
He tried but could not stop. As she walked around the table he was sent more so into shock. He watched her walk to the balcony and step up on the platform. She turned to face him as he stood in the doorway.  
-Patience, she thought. Invisibly she took a breath, -Composure... she crossed the rail of the balcony. -Courage. She jumped off the way she had seen him and Trowa do many times and from her own balcony had practiced many more times herself.  
"Mission accepted," he said and easily jumped off as well. When he landed on the ground it was at the point of a blade.  
  
"Quatre, you gotta get over her... NOW!" Duo exclaimed as he stared out the window. Seconds later the screen went blank and Duo was on his way to the study.  
Duo stared at Relena. Her hair was tied back the way she used to wear it when meeting with Romafeller back in the day. She wore clothing similar in style, also relative to that period in her life. She was very well presented, he thought.  
  
Heero took in her absolute radiance. He stared down the edge of the blade, studied her grip on the hilt and then focused in on her violet eyes. His first impulse was to walk away because he had no desire to hurt her. He wanted nothing more than to take the sword out of her hands.  
"You can't be serious," he growled.  
Her eyebrows raised as she slightly cocked her head to the side. She stared into his eyes without fear.  
"Can't I be?" Her words were most sedate.  
She was so beautiful- even with a weapon in her hand. He studied her questioning eyes; the sword in her hand -was- unbecoming of her nature. He picked up the sword that had been stuck in the ground for him and abruptly brought it up to meet hers. He was going to teach her a lesson about swordplay. His instinct told him that he could -no longer- hurt her. It was he who did the learning.  
  
"Oh-My-God!" Lucrezia and Quatre stared down at the two fencing below. "What is she -Thinking?"  
Quatre faced Lucrezia. "Did you do this?"  
Lucrezia eyed him in utter shock. "No! Are you kidding?"  
"What's going on," they heard.   
Duo turned around. "You gotta see this," he gleamed as Wufei and Sally had already begun to advance hearing the clashing of metal and a high pitched- as well as lower sounding grunting noise.  
Sally's eyes widened at the sight. Wufei beamed proudly as though he were a new father.  
  
What seemed an eternity later, Heero dropped his sword when Relena's blade came to an exceedingly swift halt at the middle of his neck. Her eyes- though full of love and desire for him- were relentless.  
  
"Well done," Trowa said almost inaudibly. Everyone on the balcony turned to look at him and then put their attention back on the couple below. Sally studied them and looked back at Wufei.  
"Why are -You- smiling," she asked.  
  
Relena loosened her grip on the hilt of the sword in her hand and let the tip of the blade rest on Heero's shoulder before removing it completely and dropping it to the ground. It landed blade over blade on Heero's.  
"Where'd you learn to do that?" Before she could answer he took her face in his hands and kissed her gently, sweetly and full of passion. Moments later he gazed at her beauty. "I'm sorry, Princess," he said. "Forgive me."  
She smiled at him. It would do, though she desperately wanted to hear the words. She was ok with this much if this was all she was going to get. "I forgave you two weeks ago," she replied.  
His eyes narrowed on her words before he blew them off in the wind and kissed her again.  
  
"Wufei?" Sally still stared inquiringly at the object of her affection.  
"What, Woman," replied he.  
Lucrezia and Quatre glanced at each other preparing for the next battle. Duo laughed as he accepted the beginning words and braced.  
"-Why- are you smiling like that?"  
Trowa looked down at Heero who was looking up at Wufei.  
"I thought you didn't believe in women fighting," Sally chided.  
"No... I said I didn't -like- fighting women and I didn't believe they had a place in battle!"  
Sally was becoming irritable.  
"You trained her?" Wufei admitted that he did with pride and a smile. "Then -WHY- do you get on to me for fighting?"  
"-What-?" he laughed. "I don't get on to you for fighting!"  
"Well isn't it your belief that women should not fight?"  
He looked at her with dark eyes. "No! It's my belief that -you- shouldn't fight with   
-me-!"  
"Ugh! Wufei! YOU were the one who said that weak women shouldn't be leaders! If you considered her to be so weak then why did you train her?"  
The others held their "Ooohs" and "Ahhhs" at her comment.  
"I said they shouldn't be leaders not that they shouldn't learn to become physically stronger."  
Duo and Quatre tried extremely hard not to burst out laughing.  
"Wufei.." she screamed. He placed his hand on her lips, gently and smiled. Her eyes narrowed as she peered at him.   
"Save your screaming for your childbearing days," he remarked and walked inside to meet with Heero and Relena.  
"Ugh!" Sally yelled.  
The others could hold it no longer. They burst into fitful terrors of laughter, Lucrezia patting Sally on the back.  
"Relax, Sal," she giggled.  
Sally let out a long breath and looked up. Even Trowa emitted a small form of laughter.  
"Yeah..." she sighed, "ok!"  
  
"Well done," Wufei stared at Relena and then looked at Heero. "Well done."  
Heero had been a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing. Relena was a pacifist- why did Wufei allow her to -pick up- a sword, much less teach her how to use one? It didn't matter much, now. He had been highly impressed with her moves. He offered a hand to Wufei who accepted and then took Relena away.  
"Ya know? It's always nice when all's well that ends well!"  
Everyone turned to Duo who stretched inattentive to the others' stare at him. "Kinda makes ya feel good... Know what I mean?" He looked at the others and walked out.  
Wufei agreed dryly before taking Sally's hand and then did the same.  
"Come on, Dear. We have stuff to do."  
Sally looked at the others, embarrassed of the tantrum she just held but none seemed to hold it against her. They just laughed.  
"Coming Darling," she replied.  
Finally Quatre gave in. "See you later Darling, Dear!" He broke into hysterical laughter, as did Lucrezia upon the viewing of Wufei's face.  
All was well. 


	4. Default Chapter Title

Ah yes... the beauty of words on paper. One of the things I love about being a writer is that the plot can change within the blink of an eye! And not only that but being the one who decides what will happen without being really sure of what -WILL- happen!! Too cool!   
*Disclaimer* The characters and locations original to Gundam Wing do not belong to me, nor do I claim them! I only claim the ones that were conjured up by my very own imagination. I write cause I like it and I can so nobody sue me...  
  
THE CALLING OF TROOPS  
  
The drive to the base seemed longer than normal. Heero could not stop his mind from racing.  
He had a sinking feeling concerning Trowa and Relena and Karizma. His mind skipped around from thought to thought.  
Quatre noticed Heero's white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel.  
"Ahem..." he cleared his throat and adjusted his seating.  
Heero thought about the discovery he made with the letter and the envelopes.  
-Why didn't I pick up on this before? Damn!  
He slammed on the steering wheel startling Quatre out of his own thoughts.  
"Heero, what's wrong?"  
The darkness in Heero's features was deeper than he had seen in a -long- time. The last time he -remembered- seeing it was just after Relena made her announcement to the world and colonies that all the soldiers of war were to relocate because they were no longer welcome on the Earth. It was a dreadful moment and his features had never been darker until now.  
"Nothing," he growled. -Nothing that I can't fix. -Damn it!-  
He had to figure out how to tell Duo. The man who befriended him all those years ago, his best friend, was in far more danger than either knew.  
"Quatre... I need to get back to the house... I'm going to drop you off and then I'll come back." His voice was grim and cold.  
"Uh... ok, Heero."  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
Ten Fifty-Five a.m.  
  
"Commander---!" Drake Carter greeted the Commander with a great deal of shock. His guest stood behind the screen, waiting patiently for his orders.  
"Chief," the Commander replied in respect to his greeting.  
"Uh... Commander... we have somewhat of a..."  
"Yes, Carter... I know."  
Carter eyed the young man in front of him, searching for some sort of relief. He found only a calmness that he did not feel.  
-No, Commander... I don't think you do, he thought.  
"Sir, I have Gardina on another line-- it appears that things are not moving as planned... in fact... I believe they are moving quicker than we expected."  
"How do you mean, Commander?" Gardina asked staring up at her.  
Carter was also interested in her words and waited for her to explain.  
"I have just received an interception from..." a sigh, "I believe it came from Repudiation." With a push of a button, the transmission played back.  
Each of them listened to the static and partial words that came out clear enough to be understood. Carter's eyes widened as Gardina's heart pounded in his chest.  
"(static)... -o!...-scraft... -ies... -day..."  
"Commander... did you make out the same..." Carter started.  
Gardina finished. "'Peacecraft dies today'," he spoke.  
All was silent. They all contemplated the words- the partial transmission they heard. All of them knowing now that the danger was now more eminent than before.  
"Commander," Carter finally said decisively after motioning for his most unexpected visitor to move forward. "It would appear that we have more help than what was previously expected."  
As he said the words, the Commander stared at the screen, waiting to see his newest ally when the screen went blank.  
  
Gardina stared in disbelief at his screen. Immediately he flipped the switch trying to re establish a connection.  
-What the hell...  
  
Carter jumped at his screen. He too powered the switch with no reaction from his telescreen. He looked up at his visitor. Seconds later he could hear people outside shuffling, yelling out orders. A knock on his door led him to believe that there was more to it than just a power surge.  
"Sir... the base just went dead."  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Relena stared at her work. She was irritated with something but could not figure out what. Her head ached with stress. It was almost eleven a.m. when her phone rang.  
"Yes," she answered.  
"Miss Peacecraft!"  
The man on the other side of the screen seemed frazzled. She stared at him. Mr. Raice, the High Minister who had once been her junior, showed signs of great strain. He had aged roughly since she saw him last. His features showed off a state of distress.  
"How can I help you, Mr. Raice?"  
He stared at the transmission on his desk. It was a mysterious piece of paper with an alarming warning printed on it, delivered by the hands of an anonymous deliverer. Unwilling to alarm -her- with it, he cleared his throat and began in a nonchalant tone.  
"We... that is.. I, um... wish to inquire after those Gundam pilots of yours there on Repudiation."  
Relena stared at him; eyes narrowed, thoughts racing.  
Mr. Raice who -insisted- and -advised- that it was the right thing to do sending away the soldiers of war. -Persistent- that the Gundam pilots be part of that banishment. And now he was asking her very assistance in concern to those that he led her to send away. The ones she banished- refused by -all- nations.  
Before she could answer, an outburst of commotion entered her study. Relena looked up at a young woman who was pointing a gun blank at her head.  
"Miss Peacecraft... please---," he pleaded just before the screen went dead. The lights flickered a bit and everything was still again.  
Relena stared at the woman in front of her. The barrel of a gun was a sight she was getting used to. More so now than when she had made the step from Vice Foreign Minister to Her Royal Highness once again.  
The girl walked over to the desk and spoke, edging Relena out of her seat and slowly around the desk.  
"Miss Peacecraft, you're gonna have to come with me."  
Relena's eyes were soft, her composure was cool.  
"Who are you and what do you want?"  
"My name is Karizma Delanie Cervantes and I am here to protect you. Unfortunately, this is the only way that I am able to sustain your safety."  
Relena stared bug-eyed and open-jawed at this -ridiculous- statement.  
"War is eminent, Miss Peacecraft. Soon the worlds will be swarming with Mobil suits and dolls and pilots and fighters and everything else. -You- need to be safe."  
Relena had to fight not laugh at the absurdity of this girl's words. "Do you think you can convince me with a gun pointed at my head?" She suddenly realized that this young lady was the girl that Duo and Trowa found lurking in the hangar.  
"It's the only way," Karizma said clicking her gun. "You're a 'Peacecraft'."  
"So can you drop your gun and just -ask- that I go with you?"  
Karizma stared blankly at her. -Would that have worked?  
"You -need- to be protected, Miss Peacecraft," she stated again.  
"And that's not really your job, now... is it?"  
Relena looked past Karizma and felt a sincere relief at the sight of Trowa.  
"What are you doing here," he asked.  
"It is no concern of yours," she retorted with her gun still on Relena.  
"She IS my concern," he growled back at her.  
"We're on the same side... -Trowa."  
"Then -why- do you have your gun pulled... -Cervantes." He advanced closer to her.  
Both of them felt chills at the sound of their own name from the other's mouth. It was a sensation neither enjoyed.  
"Because... -Trowa-... it's my job to see that..."  
"No, -Karizma-... that's MY job," he said as he was finally close enough to yank the gun out of her hands.  
She was defeated. Pain swelled in her eyes in the form of tears.  
"Let's go," he motioned to both of them.  
Relena followed close behind him as he forced Karizma out of the room.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
As soon as Quatre was out of the hummer and he heard the door latch, Heero took off back toward the mansion.  
Quatre worked his way to the unit where Lucrezia worked. After several hundred yards and two minutes of working past the bustling going on, he arrived at her office where five young men were doing there best to knock down the door.  
  
Eleven O Five a.m.  
  
Lucrezia stared into the eyes of her once obedient student. For the last forty-five minutes or so she had been locked in her office with this young man, three years her junior, by gunpoint. He wanted information that she refused to give. Information concerning the base and the whereabouts of the Gundam pilots and their suits.  
"Bordman... why are you doing this?"  
He clicked his gun at her, locking the trigger.  
"For the same reason -you- did back during Oz."  
--"Just wait and see... it's a revolution..."--  
"Sentiel... those people out there," she referred to the constant barrage at the door, "don't have a clue of what they're up against."  
"Do -you-, Captain Noin?"  
His harshness to her was indescribable. He stared hard at her, unmoved, untouched by emotion, breathless, almost lifeless... he didn't even blink at her.  
"I can only imagine that you received your orders form one man." She walked around the desk to the door. Fear encircled Bordman's body. Lucrezia put one hand on the door, feeling it vibrate at the pounding on the other side. She turned around and faced him only two inches away from the barrel of his gun. "And if that is the case," she spoke coldly, "Zechs Marquise is not a man who is accustomed to hearing of insubordination. So complete your mission, Soldier, because you are getting -Nothing- from me!"  
She stood in front of him, glaring at him. His hands were shaking, sweat dripped from his forehead and she could see the sting in his eyes as he looked at her.  
"Captain... don't. I hold you in the highest respect... please..."  
Lucrezia became disgusted with his cowardice. She knocked the gun out of his hands and when he moved to attack her or reach for the weapon, Lucrezia was unsure of which action he meant to take, she pulled a small dagger on him. It was an object she detested but had promised Quatre that she would keep it near her at all times. It proved handy after all.  
"-You- listen to me," she hissed. "When you left -My- training, you would not have given up until your mission was -Complete-!" A rigid pulse ran through her body. She felt a coldness from him that stung her to the bone. "Well, Soldier... perhaps Colonel -Zechs- will give you a decent burial!"  
It was not her intention to kill him, only to frighten him. She punched him with a right hook that sent him to the floor out cold. "Respect my ass..." she said as she tied and gagged him. "Now... for further business," she waited for the last attempt at knocking down the door before she yelled at them to stop.  
They did and she unlocked the door. Quatre slammed in forcing her to stumble backward.  
"Quatre!" she exclaimed.  
His gun was pulled as he stood to protect her against something but soon realized that there was nothing to protect her from.  
"Are you alright, Captain?"  
She looked out of the room, staring at the five young men and then looked back at Quatre. He now stood the color of a tomato and stepped aside from her.  
"Yes," she answered.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
... meanwhile ...  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Trowa walked them both back to his house. Karizma walked four paces in front of them, Trowa guessed to conceal her anger at herself and perhaps as a scouting position. He could tell that she was highly trained but saw that her actions proved her to be distracted and careless.  
"Trowa," Relena spoke. She'd been watching his constant fixation on Karizma's back. Her thoughts reflected to the call she received from Mr. Raice and the fact that something had happened causing the screen to disconnect and the lights to flutter.  
"What," his tone was rough.  
"What's going on?"  
He turned to her. For a split second, she saw in the depths of his eyes a concern... only a fleeting piece of emotion so deep and so new to his expression that it frightened her. Her face went white and she almost fainted.  
Trowa grabbed her gently and lowered her to the ground where she could sit comfortably.  
"Are you ok, Relena?"  
She looked into his eyes again. Whatever she thought had been there was now gone. She tried to recapture it but could not. It had fled from him forever. But her memory held on to it well. She knew what it was.  
-Trowa -frightened- me, she thought. But it wasn't that. "I..." she rubbed her head.  
Karizma came running back to them.  
"Is she alright?"  
Trowa still looked into Relena's eyes. What did he see there? Something frightened her... was it him? Did he do this to her?  
"-Trowa!" Karizma demanded his attention.  
He looked away from Relena and up at Karizma. "-What?-"  
"There is someone down there, -is- she alright?"  
Trowa looked down the hill at the house.  
"How do you know it's not one of the others?"  
Relena grabbed Trowa's arm for reasons unknown to either of them. He held her hand on his arm, not taking his eyes from Karizma.  
"I saw someone," she said.  
He could not trust his feelings, even though they told him that something was awry. They were as clouded with mystery to him as much as his eyes were to Relena. She was in danger and Heero made him swear on his own life that he would protect her and at this moment, that was all that mattered. He could feel his knees aching as he squatted next to Relena. He had to make a quick decision about what his next move would be.  
  
~~~  
  
Kya Reider stared up the hill. Her thoughts were as clear as her mission was.  
-So... "Quiet Boy" is taking care of her..., she left her hiding spot. -Well not for long...  
Finding her way to an open window, she climbed in where she wouldn't be seen. As she crawled through the tiny space, she was met by the nose of a gun that rested at the back of her head.  
"Door not good enough for you?"  
Heero pulled the girl around. He felt a sense- small as it was, of relief that he'd come back.  
"Who are you?"  
It was a question he was getting tired of asking. The reply was more so irritating. She answered not. He clicked his gun ready to pull the trigger.  
With a move he did not expect, she managed to just nick him on the chin but he was quickly rectified and grabbed her. With a swift move of his own, he had her pinned on the ground.  
"Sweetheart, you better start talking."  
Heero, with his foot still on her chest, turned away to see Duo and Wufei standing in the doorway.  
Kya looked up at Duo and marveled at the braid that fell just below his butt. She struggled to get away but Heero held her down, enforcing his power over her.  
"What are you guys doing here?" He moved slowly to pick her up off the ground.  
Duo walked over to them with his gun also pointed at her. As he approached she struggled hard from Heero's grip. Ignoring the crack in her arm, she swung around violently and kicked Duo in the gut.  
Both Heero and Wufei took action with the girl and sustained her through violent action. She lay on the floor, sprawled in a less than appealing position.  
Heero walked over to Duo who kneeled coughing on the floor a few feet away. "Are you ok?"  
-Gasp- "No--!" He breathed hard, wrenching at the pain.  
Heero watched Wufei tie up the girl and looked down again. He rubbed Duo's back a bit and helped him up. "Duo, we need to talk."  
"Times a waistin', Buddy..." Duo coughed some more. He held his midsection and walked with Heero across the way from the entrance.  
"Wufei-" Heero called. The response was a grunt. -Good enough, Heero thought.  
  
Heero led Duo to the study, leaving him for a minute to regain his self-credibility and went to his room. Moments later he was back on the first floor tossing two envelopes at the winded young man.  
"What's this?"  
Hero observed Duo's reaction as he stared at the envelopes.  
"Heero...?"  
-Ahem... "Unfortunately, my hopes for peace have been wiped clean by pressures of an  
up-comom-ing war." Heero read the words carefully and stated the operative word syllable by syllable.  
Duo looked at the envelopes in front of him. "I don't understand... do you think whoever sent that," he pointed at Heero's letter, "is the one?"  
Heero shook his head. "Oh no... I am pretty sure that they are two different sources. You still don't see?"  
Duo looked down at the envelopes again.  
"Look at the Post marks, Duo."  
Duo stared at the figures. There were different marks for every aspect of the colonies and earth. There were three numbers on every envelope that went through the mail system. A number representing each colony cluster or the earth, another to represent the location specifically of where the letter came from and a routing number to where it was going.  
A representing number marked the one envelope that Duo had received back when Hilde showed up for L4. The last one he received- "Death Consumes the Weak"- was marked from the earth. He looked up at Heero, confused.  
"Your 'Loyal Servant' was never -from- L4, Duo."  
He was confused and bitter. "How do you know, Heero?" His question was showing signs of hostility that were raging inside of him.  
"...Pressures of an UPcoming war. Duo... this doesn't mean an inevitable war... it means that it is coming UP to meet us." He shook the letter he read from. "Carter knows who this is and that is why he knows so much about our situation."  
"And that is why he wanted us to bring it up to him," Wufei gathered.   
Heero and Duo looked up at their friend who stood in the doorway. Duo managed a small chuckle at Wufei's marked chest but it was not a lasting feeling.  
"And I have a strange feeling about this," Duo said as he sank back into his chair feeling disgruntled at the whole thing.  
"Suck it up. Both of you."  
Wufei stared at them. They knew he was right. They all had a job to do. Not sure of what it was, they each looked at the other and then Heero and Duo stood up.  
"I'm going to get Quatre. We'll meet back at the hangar."  
  
Duo and Wufei took a jog back to their Mobil suits.  
"You ok?"  
Duo felt strange at Wufei's consideration of his feelings. -What did Sally do to you, he thought as he laughed inside.  
"I'm sure I will be."  
From that moment on, nothing more was said of it. It was enough for Duo to know that Wufei cared enough to ask and it was enough for Wufei to know that Duo considered it enough to answer.  
-Sally, what did you do to me? His internal thought was based on the idea that he even   
-bothered- to ask. It was ok, though.   
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
The Commander stared at the blank screen. It had been over twenty minutes since the interference occurred and they had still not been able to re-establish communications. It wasn't enough that the power had come back on, they -needed- to get back in touch with Carter to see what actions they should take.   
"Commander," Dox ran in, out of breath. He had a sheet of paper in hand. "Commander..." he gasped. "We're -all- in trouble," he spoke concisely as he handed her the page. "We lost communication again..."  
The Commander read the page. "...Half past eleven hundred hours... commence Operation Throw Down..." there was more but mainly bits and pieces of words and other orders.  
-Damn! "Dox... get this thing working!"  
"I can't... Commander."  
"What?"  
"We were fortunate enough to get this," he said in demonstration of the letter. "There was a power surge or something... something that is blocking transmission and they have narrowed it to about an eleven mile radius."  
The Commander stared at the young man. About twelve miles from where they stood was a man who was in control. A man, the Commander knew, who was ready to be confronted -along- with the Nemesis.  
"Commander... the time."  
-Eleven twenty one. So it only took twenty-four hours, did it? "Dox... is there -any- place close enough where you can send out a message?"  
He shook his head. Eleven miles would take some time to cross, even in a vehicle considering if they made it past the frenzy that was growing outside. Somehow the people knew that something was going on. "The only thing -right now- would be... a transport."  
-A transport, thought the Commander simultaneous to his words.   
"But it would never make it in time," he finished.  
Dox was quiet. The Commander quieter still. There was only one thing left to do.  
"Dox..."  
"Yes, Commander?"  
"It's time to pay the toll."  
Dox's eyes widened, his heart leaped out of his chest leaving him feeling empty and lifeless inside. The words caused him to suddenly feel off guard and unprepared for the situation that was about to come into play.  
"-And-... it will be your -Duty- to get this to General Gardina and Chief Carter-- whatever the cost."  
"What about Lt. Sierra, Commander? If we have all lost communication..."  
"If what you are telling me is correct... our base has not been effected since we do not work on the same system as the regular military. Remember, Dox... we are privately sponsored through the works of High Minister Terran. Send only a brief message. He will know what to do." -That was indeed a long time ago... Thank you, Sir. A brief silence allowed the Commander to remember the bravery of the High Minister/ Commander in Chief of L4 who died shortly after giving assignments to Drake Carter for Repudiation.  
"Yes, Commander." With his orders, he left the room.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Still noting, Sir but we did receive the tail end of a transmission."  
Drake Carter eyed the specialist in front of him. They could not figure out what was causing the malfunction there on the base and had come to learn that -all- military action had lost communication. Base Four had lost it as well as the Earth. A woman came to him holding up a message that had just been caught, but only bits and pieces could he make out.  
  
General Gardina futzed with his computer to no end. He had still not been able to get back in contact with Carter or the Commander.  
He called out orders to soldiers and other personnel to fix the problem. It was to no avail. He knew it was inevitable now. Before he was about to give up trying to sign on, a young man brought him a sheet of paper. It was a cut message.  
"Half past eleven hu... rs... menc... tion... ow... n."  
  
Carter stared at the words. Gardina at his clock. Eleven twenty-six. Both in their respective locations pressed a button and flipped a switch. Sirens went off announcing that this was -not- a drill.  
  
Base Four and Repudiation were now pumping with militaristic movement. The battle had begun. War had now been set in motion and they were calling in the troops.  
  
When Raice had been disconnected from Relena, he tried franticly to regain communication. Without ceasing, he tried excessive measures to get her or anyone back on line. He frenzied over the information. Another of his fellow clan entered the room where he frustrated over the telescreen  
"L4 and Repudiation are in battle mode."  
The words were like a metal bat crashing on his head, collapsing his skull. It was time. He stared down at the paper in front of him.  
"Orders to begin at Eleven hundred hours stop Movement: to overthrow the High Ministers of Peace and take down Gardina and Carter stop Once positioned: Half past eleven hundred hours all troops will commence Operation Throw Down stop"   
  
It was eleven twenty-nine. Raice didn't know what to do. All the allies the earth had were in space. A movement away and -he- had no way of making communication to request assistance.  
"Guess it wasn't such a good idea to send them away -after- all, was it..." High Minister Brava stared back at his counterpart, "-Mis-ter- Raice?" He had taken into view the words on the page and walked out to leave Raice alone with his cowardice and guilt.  
The words echoed around the room, around his mind, ringing in his ears. It -was- he who sent them away. And now...  
  
  
17.  
INEVITABLE WAR  
Truth Revealed  
  
"Commander---"  
Dox had caught a glimpse of someone in a building pointing an object at them. It glinted in the rays of light causing him to react immediately. He jumped over the curb of the street knocking his superior to the ground.  
Shots had been fired and rang through the air. They had only arrived at a building- the rebuilt mansion of the once Sank Kingdom.  
From a distance they heard a violent explosion and felt the ground shake beneath them.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Hold your fire," Zechs demanded.   
He stared out the window, squinting at the two intruders far below.  
The young man he _knew_ had to be Heero Yuy, but the woman...  
"Zechs, what is it?"  
He ignored the words of his accomplice and stared harder. It _wasn't_ Heero Yuy. But the woman....  
"Who _IS_ that?"  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Trowa and Karizm stared off into the direction of the sirens before both turned to Relena.  
Relena stood up frantic at the same sound they were hearing. Trowa pushed her at Karizma.  
"Cervantes, get her to the base," he yelled and began for his suit.  
--"Your LIFE Trowa."--  
He remembered Heero's words. What could he do? "Damn!" He turned around but Karizma was already leading Relena away. The two figures ran away, he watched them. A strange sensation fell over him. Ignoring it he headed back for his Gundam.  
  
~~~  
  
Gardina had only just gotten through to Carter only for there to be a violent explosion on his side and the communication with Carter to be shut down once again.  
"*#@!" Carter yelled and headed out of his office. He motioned for the younger man in his company to follow.  
Heero had arrived back on base and now stood with Quatre and Lucrezia. Each of them stared at the other, surprised half by the commotion and half by the fact that they were still standing there.  
Quatre stared at Lucrezia for a brief moment before being led away by Heero. In those silent seconds they both managed to say exactly what they felt toward the other.  
Lucrezia turned away before she became too involved with her emotions and ran down the hall. Her thoughts raced in her head and came to a sudden and complete standstill when she rounded the corner and ran into Commander in Chief Carter and his latest   
-would be- soldier. She gasped, unable to take any amount of air into her lungs and stepped back to brace herself on the wall.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Gardina shuffled his soldiers around. A fourth of his base, the part carrying most of the armaments, was destroyed. He had one of his tech operators working on the computer and just had word that communication had just been restored.  
"Sir... I have High Minister Raice on the line for you!"  
-Raice? What the hell does _he_ want?  
"Sir?"  
"Get -Carter- on the line! I _Don't_ have time to talk to -Mr. Raice-!" Gardina yelled.  
"Sir... he said the Peace Hall on Earth was blown up about two minutes ago..."  
Gardina stopped and turned around.  
"_WHAT_? -GET CARTER ON THE LINE," he yelled, "Tell Raice that _I Can't do anything WITHOUT orders from Carter_!"  
He ran away from the man, down the hangar where the Mobil suits were being manned.  
  
~~~  
  
Heero and Quatre drove to the hangar at high speed. On the way they passed Relena and Karizma.  
"Wasn't that..." Quatre began.  
"Cervantes!" Heero yelled and swung the hummer around.  
"Heero! We _Have_ to get orders," he cried out as he clung to the side of the door for support.  
Karizma noticed the turn around of the hummer and stopped at Relena's gesture.  
"That was Heero," she exclaimed.  
A second later, Heero was storming over to the other vehicle.  
"Where's Trowa," he demanded.  
Relena stared at Heero, shocked at his demeanor.  
"I suppose with his Gundam," Karizma replied.  
Heero eyed Relena harshly and did the same with Karizma.  
"Your Life depends on her safety," he reprimanded and hurried away.  
The two young women stared at each other and then drove off.  
Moments later, Quatre and Heero were sitting in the cockpit of their Mobil suits along with the others. All five waited impatiently for orders.  
"Heero," Trowa called.  
"Not now," he responded dryly with a small sense of detest.  
The other three sat in silence.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Lucrezia regained her composure and saluted her Commanding Officer. As he relieved her of the salute, a young corporal came running up.  
"Sir," he called saluting them all more than once. "Sir," he breathed hard. "There is a call... Base Four was hit," he said unaware of the CiC's knowledge of this, "and the Peace Hall on Earth... crumbled, Sir. Gardina wants orders, Sir!"  
Carter stared at Lucrezia. This was new.  
"I must take this call. Captains... brief this young man-" he sighed. "I'm deploying you and your Elite to Earth." He turned his attention to the young man. "Is Your group ready?"  
"Say the words," he replied.  
Carter looked back and forth between the two.  
"Earth," he pointed at Lucrezia and put a hand on the shoulder of her new counterpart.  
"Dispatch at will."  
"Yes Sir," the two complied in unison, hands raised.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Zechs watched as the two people made their way cautiously up to the front of the building and then left the office. Seconds later, he returned.  
"Suit up, you're going to Repudiation." He looked into the eyes of the young woman. Her eyes lost the glow he fell in love with.  
Her Excellency stared blankly at his orders and watched him go off.  
  
~~~  
  
"Dox... go now. By now Carter and Gardina are in _need_ of our assistance."  
"But Commander..." he interjected.  
She put a soft hand on his arm. "Sierra will know what to do. Zechs Marquise won't hurt me," she smiled softly and pushed the young Sergeant Major away.  
He went off his way and she stared at the door.  
-Or should I call you Mr. Milliardo Peacecraft? Now... straight in or...  
As if to answer her thought, the door flew open. Out walked Zechs with his gun loaded, cocked and pointed at her.  
"So. If it isn't you!" He took note of her uniform. "What would Treize have to say about you now," he stared at the bars that gave her rank on her collar, "Commander _UNE_?"  
  
~~~  
  
Dox entered a small room. From what he could tell, it was a hall of records. He scrambled over to the phone and dialed Lieutenant Sierra.  
"Sir... this is Dox..."  
A click of a gun and the canceling of communication sent his insides spinning. He knew that this was the moment of truth. He was content that at least he managed to get in contact with Sierra before this moment.  
  
~~~  
  
Sierra stared at the blank screen while depressing a small green button. A deep sigh escaped his lungs. Alarms went off all around him. After a few seconds of self-meditation and listening to the noise in the background of shuffling feet, he turned around to face the assembly that had formed behind him.  
"This is not a drill. Everyone to your given post, man the suits, deploy the dolls--" he broke away. "Schneider... you take a group to the Rock, Kramer... Base Four for assistance and then lead Half your group to the Earth. Jaden... you are to take a carrier to Base Four- they might be out a few of their... provisions."  
He turned away dismissing them all. Soon they would all be out. As he suspected, he watched artillery of war deploy in their given directions.  
"Take care Commander..." he whispered and stood his post.  
  
~~~  
  
"Well, well, well... who are we in such a hurry to inform?"  
Dox did not turn around.  
"Come on... let's go," she chided.  
He turned around and stared into dark eyes.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Lucrezia led the man to a hangar. She called her group together and handed out orders, explaining the situation.  
Zechs' troops were all over, battling for their own cause. Carter and Gardina, and unknown to her, Sierra's troops were defending against the enemy. War was everywhere.  
After her troops were dispatched she walked over to the man and punched him as hard as she could.  
He stumbled backward a bit and then stood up as he watched her move to a Taurus and load up. He went out of the hangar to where his suit was and did the same calling into action his troops who were waiting on the outskirts of space to begin.  
Lucrezia's screen showed that the Gundam pilots were already in action defending the Rock. Further out Base Four was protecting Gardina and further still, battle was high on the Earth.  
"Talk about your revolution!"  
  
~~~  
  
"Are you going to shoot me, Zechs or stand there?"  
Zechs stared at her. He found it hard to believe that -she- was in assistance to the pilots. She had disappeared just before the WASP and had not been heard from again.  
Before he answered they were disturbed by the rumbling noise of a Mobil suit being launched into space on a carrier.  
"You know who she's up against out there. Is she prepared for that, Mr. Marquise? Or will you be portraying Milliardo Peacecraft?"  
She dodged his move for her and engaged in a physical battle with him.  
"You are NO match for me... _Lady_ Une."  
"Nor for me," a voice called from behind.  
Both turned around. A young girl stared back at them with a hostage of her own. Zechs did nothing about the sight, merely stared. She now pointed her gun at the woman instead of the soldier she had found trying to call for assistance.  
"And what is Your mission?" Une asked.  
"To kill YOU," she replied.  
Zechs put an end to it right then and there.  
Let's not rush things," he said and ushered Lady Une and the young man inside with the girl's help. "She has yet to show herself to the pilots," he sneered.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
On their way to Earth, troops from Repudiation and from Base Four fought fearlessly to make their destinations.  
"It's an honor to work by your side, Captain Noin."  
Lucrezia was impressed and honored by the words of an unidentified fighter to her left.  
"Thank you," she replied.  
To her right she could see the five pilots fighting their hearts out. Beyond them there was more. The number of Mobil suits in front of her were more than Repudiation had and since Base Four had been hit...  
She couldn't figure it out. She knew what it meant... the unknown ally that Quatre and Heero had mentioned had just shown up. But from where? As she took that into view, she also noticed still -more- suits coming in and knew from the markings that those were from her counterpart's supply.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Relena sat behind the desk in Drake Carter's office.  
Before he left into battle, he sat down with her and tried to help her feel better. But he couldn't. How could he? The love of her life was out there fighting a battle that he didn't even know the cause of. Trowa and Duo and Quatre and Wufei were out there fighting a never-ending war. She couldn't sit there. She wanted to be doing something useful. As she lost herself in ideas, her thoughts were disturbed.  
"Excuse me... Miss Peacecraft?"  
Relena looked up at the young uniformed girl, seemingly not much older than herself, in the doorway.  
"Yes?"  
A gun went up at her and was fired.  
"That will never do," the woman said to herself and skitted away.  
  
~~~  
  
Heero felt a deafening sound ring in his ears. Bullets whizzed passed his Wing Zero. The quietness of space was far lost. Something was wrong. He had a vision of Relena-- an uncomforting vision. He pulled away from the battle letting the others continue on.  
"Heero," Duo called.  
"Where are you going," Trowa demanded.  
"Let him go," Quatre insisted.  
"We have our own battle here," Wufei reminded.  
  
Each went on in their own way, defending what was most important to them. Having their own ideas of what this was about and whom it involved in their own heart.  
  
Duo fought to ensure the safety of his friends and to reinforce his ideals of peace. He fought out of respect to the ones lost in battles past and for a deep love that he still felt for Hilde. Even though she had turned out to be the enemy, he knew that it was something that she was convinced to do. It had taken a LOT to convince her and she was drawn in by it. He still loved her and he was going to fight to show her that he was still on the side she left and would remain there. His thoughts surfed around and landed on the incoming letters. It was his intent to win the war so that he could find out if it was as Heero had said. He needed to confirm his own suspicions and sinking thoughts.  
  
Trowa staged war on anyone who put Catherine and Relena in danger. Even though it had been almost two years that he'd seen Catherine he still felt a need to protect her. It was a different feeling of protection than that which he felt for Relena.  
To protect Catherine, he felt it his duty as her brother. To protect Relena at Heero's request was an honor. He couldn't explain his love for the two most important females in his life but for whatever reason it was that he felt, that reason was for fighting to protect.  
  
Quatre knew that because he and his fellow pilots had been targeted, their families would also be. The packet of information told him so.  
For Quatre, this battle was for the love of his family, the memory of his father and the friendship in his heart. For their sake, he took up his Sandrock and fought. He had his own reasons to protect and keep the ideals of peace that surged from within. He looked off into the distance to earth. Leading a troop of Mobil suits was one of them.  
  
Wufei fought for honor and for the pride he carried deep within. His strength came from a deep love that he held for a woman named Sally Po. He was going to win this war for her and for the child he was almost certain he had already given her. He already had the ring and when he landed back on the Rock he was going to propose to her properly. Then give her the wedding of her dreams or desire of her heart concerning the matter. This alone was what he fought for.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Karizma raced into Carter's office, dreading the thoughts she had. She envisioned Heero's rage and her own death by his hands. --"Your Life..."--  
As she rounded the corner, she stopped at the sight of Relena. Tears flooded her eyes but only one trickled down her cheek.  
"Miss Peacecraft..."  
Relena stared at Karizma with utter shock and disbelief. She had not moved a muscle since the shot had been fired.  
"I... I... th... thought you were supposed to prot..tect me..." she spoke with a whimper.  
Karizma hurried into the room and stared at the hole in the wall behind Relena. Then she examined the entrance and exit holes of the chair beside Relena's head.  
"Next time, it _WILL_ be your head."  
Relena and Karizma looked up to the door. Both sets of eyes widened at the view. The young lady, the very one who shot at Relena, stared at them. She walked into the room with her gun raised.  
"You," she motioned for Karizma, "step aside." This new girl stared cold and hard at her.  
Karizma knew enough to -step- aside in Retreat than to -lay- aside in Defeat. At this moment, the young lady had the upper hand.  
"With you, _Relena Peacecraft_, I have a much -bigger- fish to fry."  
She walked up and grabbed Relena by the arm and pulled her out of the room. As she left, she fired a careless shot back at Karizma and continued dragging Relena away.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Zechs stared at his opponent and wondered why he hadn't heard from Her Excellency yet. Commander Une stared back without fear or feeling.   
As the two carried on with this silent war, the battle outside got closer. Mobil troops had descended the atmosphere, penetrating earth's protective shield and were now getting ready to stage war where it would affect him the most.  
When the distraction of Mobil suits occupied the main thought, Une took a knock to the girl and pointed her gun at Zechs.  
"-No----" she yelled.  
Une looked down at the girl she pinned to the ground.  
"Do you think he cares that much for you?" She pointed the gun at the girl and cocked it. "Want to find out?"  
The girl stopped struggling and with hard eyes, dared the Commander to move in action.  
Silence.   
"Didn't think so," she said quietly.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
As Heero landed his Gundam he saw Ellen Carter being ushered to a shuttle. Several civilians were being sent away for their protection. He silently hoped that their servants were finding their way out as well. It was when he jumped out of his suit that he saw Sally leading a group, their servants as well as Relena's included, to another shuttle.  
She spotted him and made eye contact with him. There was a familiar glow about her, he noticed. At that moment he stared at her and realized that he knew something about her that she didn't seem to know or was too preoccupied to think about it.  
Another brief moment sent them in opposite directions.  
Heero rounded the corner cautiously and entered Carter's' office. He knew Relena wasn't there but felt the need to check anyway. It was to his irritation that he found a wounded Karizma instead.  
"What happened," he yelled rushing to her side.  
She was leaning, half-laying against the wall holding her side and leg. Sobs escaped her and tears streamed her face.  
"It hurts," she cried. "Mr. Yuy... I am so sorry... Please..." she managed between sobs.  
He could see that guilt consumed her and fear raged in her eyes. Fear that he was going to kill her. --"Your Life depends on her safety."-- He was angered. Not at her but at himself. He left Relena in Trowa's care who thought it the best thing to leave her in Karizma's when she should have been in _His_ own care. He had no one to blame but himself.  
"Mr. Yuy..."  
Heero looked into her eyes. Slowly he replaced the pressure she put on the wound with his own weight.  
-I gotta get Sally down here, he thought. -But she has too much of her own right now... Damn!  
He had her stretch out as best she could without dropping the level of her heart to the wound.  
"This is going to hurt," he said as he took off her belt and slipped one end between her legs and shimmied it up to her crotch.   
Never taking his eyes off hers, he apologized for the discomfort she may have been feeling and then tightened the belt as best he could above the wound.  
An inch left, he noted, would have sent her in a fatal plunge to her death.  
"Can you stand?"  
Karizma gritted her teeth as he helped her up.  
"Mr. Yuy... I am so sorry..." she whimpered at him.  
It was then that Heero noticed the bullet hole in the chair.  
"Yeah, well... so am I," he mumbled and helped her out.  
It suddenly struck him that he needed to be going after Relena. What was he doing helping -this- invalid out of the way?  
  
~~~  
  
Relena struggled against the pull of the other young woman.  
"Heero will find me," she said confidently.  
"Ha! Do you honestly think -Heero- is the fish I'm after? Sweetheart, I'm not after the Soldier... Like I said... I have a Bigger fish to fry. I could care -Less- about Heero." she said roughly.  
Relena didn't understand. If it wasn't Heero, then who?  
"Get in," the girl spoke harshly.  
Relena stared at the monstrous structure. Why did she have to get in to this thing? She knew nothing of handling Mobil suits.  
"Don't worry about it. Just do it."   
*click*  
Her voice was melancholy and the gun displayed her sentiment.  
"You won't have to pilot it," she spoke matter-of-factly, "but you _DO_ have to get in."  
  
As Relena moved to climb in, another voice came at them from the entrance of the hangar.  
"Stop or I will shoot."  
-Great! What is going on? Relena thought.  
In an instant move, the young woman, her captor, grabbed Relena, holding her gun to her head. The young girl on the other side stood with one arm extended, holding a gun. Relena could see that she was protecting her other arm.  
"Well, well. well.... Kya Reider!" She smiled almost in extreme pleasure at the girl. "Your post was lost when you left without orders!"  
Kya cocked her gun.  
"-She- is not your mission," Kya replied.  
"Well -you- obviously didn't do your job, did you?"  
Kya stepped closer. Relena felt the grasp on her neck grow tighter.  
-Is this a fight for the rights of passage? Relena felt irritated and fear at the same time.  
"Let her go," Kya insisted. "I saw the Braided one."  
-Duo? Relena's heart raced.  
The young woman loosened her grip and then tightened again.  
"You're lying," she called.  
"Why would I?" Kya returned. "I struck the first blow. -Your- mission is _O-Ver_!"  
Relena became frantic. -How could Duo fall to the hands of a woman? He had to be restrained from hitting Hilde after what she had done... It couldn't be! Not Duo!  
The grip was released. Relena fell to the ground with a violent shove. As she fell there came a thundering bang.  
The girl grabbed a communication bar and made an announcement throughout the base, transmitting it to wherever it would be picked up.  
Relena lay helpless on the ground. This time the bullet -did- hit her and it was her blood that surrounded her.  
"Attention.... everyone..."  
Another shot was fired. Kya Reider lay slain only inches away from Relena. Their blood mixed and mingled as it spread around them.  
"Relena Peacecraft..."  
  
Heero held his breath. He still had not found her but knew he was near because of the crackling he heard over the speakers. Only in a hangar would there be such static.  
  
Duo and Trowa concentrated on the words, waiting. Quatre had been led toward the earth and Wufei was off in the distance near Base Four.  
  
"... is dead..."  
Communication was cut and the girl climbed into her Mobil suit.  
  
Eleven Fifty-Nine a.m.  
  
"-NO-------"  
Duo shouted as he pulled away. Trowa went straight in for the kill, finishing what Duo had started against the enemy.  
Tears swelled in their eyes and now neither had room for anything but war. Hate consumed them.  
  
Heero entered the hangar, ducking to the ground as the Mobil suit took off firing shots at him. Bullets showered the ground as the Mobil suit disappeared.  
In the settling, Heero raced to the com. bar and yelled out a description of the suit and then made his way to the two bodies that lay lifeless, crumpled on the ground. One he recognized as the girl they had disabled at the house and the other...  
  
Sally left her post running for the hangar that she had spotted the Mobil suit exiting.  
Upon entering she saw Heero cradling his fallen angel. He was holding her gently, rocking her.  
"Shhh... I'm here," he whispered.  
At closer inspection, Sally saw that Relena was still alive-- barely hanging on.  
"Sally," Heero cried in tears.  
It was a sight she could never in her life have imagined.  
"Heero," Relena whimpered in a small voice sounding almost like an infant.  
"Heero, I need you to be calm... let me do this," Sally strangled her own tears away. Both Heero -and- Relena needed her right now.  
  
~~~  
  
"Copy that, Heero... the god of DEATH takes revenge---" Duo yelled in tears.  
He could only see red. Nothing mattered. The girl he looked on much like a sister had been taken down and now he was going to take revenge. It was the memory of Trowa's words that helped him to know deep down that she wasn't dead.  
--"Relena is a strong person. She can take a hell of a lot more than you think."--  
That didn't matter to him. Not in the sense that he would let the attacker off simply because Relena was strong.  
He saw the Mobil suit that Heero had described ascending on him.  
"You will DIE," he shouted.  
-Relena will live... but you...  
He raised his scythe as he entered into a battle with this unknown enemy. A battle that he had no idea was -his- battle.  
  
~~~  
  
Seita came running in yelling for Heero.  
"Mr. Duo is in Mortal Combat," she yelled.  
Sally looked at the girl and then at Heero. He was the perfect soldier she had strapped down to the table all those years ago. No more tears, no more sadness... nothing.  
She watched him as he unwillingly left her side. Immediately she implored Seita to get on the communication bar and get any medic available out to where they were.  
Heero, she knew, was on his way to strike the deathblow to the one who called out these orders and it wasn't the pilot of that Mobil suit either.  
  
  
18.  
WORD GETS OUT  
Whose Battle Is It?  
  
Wufei cringed at the news. He could not leave his station near Base Four and had mumbled something to himself with a prayer. Silently, he hoped that Heero was with her, knowing full well that he wasn't. The battle continued around him as he went in for the strike of his enemy attackers.  
"Nataku..." he yelled as one Mobil suit came up on him and moved to destroy the fighter.  
It was a receding thought to turn back to Repudiation. Memories of teaching her to fence unfolded themselves in front of him. He thought about the first time she picked up a sword. He had no idea what her intention was, all he did was yell at her to put it down because she didn't know how to handle one.  
--"Then teach me,"-- was all she said. She explained to him that she wanted to show Heero up and that this was the only way she could think to do it and still keep her dignity and pride. She had been an excellent student and now... she lay dying, for he felt in his heart that she was not dead, in someone's presence other than Heero's. But he would have it no other way, Wufei was certain, because after their dual Heero knew that she would not die like that.  
  
Quatre stopped his battling for a second. His heart seemed to tweak and left him in excruciating pain. A feeling not unlike that of which he felt for his father and Dorothy upon their deaths.  
This young woman was so gentle and so kind. His sisters were special to him but Relena... she was someone he trusted, would confide in... wanted and _needed_ to be around. He loved her. Trowa's words stuck in his mind.  
--"She is someone of great consequence..."--  
She was. He didn't feel toward his sisters the way he felt toward Relena. She was closer to him as an "adopted" sister than his others were.  
-Great consequence, indeed, thought he.  
It was at that moment that he was confronted by an unexpected blow. He had to concentrate back on the battle at hand. These new enemies were tougher than those of Oz and the WASP were.  
  
Lucrezia felt tears swell up in her eyes. In a silent prayer, she landed herself with four of her group on the outskirts of a small village.  
They were going to infiltrate the mansion where Zechs was based out of. Their back up was the troops above them, led by Quatre and her... counterpart. It was somewhat of a confusing feeling she had about this new partner. Grateful that he was there but angry at the same time.  
An overwhelming feeling of more than just hate and discontent overwhelmed her at the news of Relena.  
"Come on, Relena... you are Strong! Don't leave us now!"   
She felt a strange feeling of pain wash over her as she thought about whom had sent orders out to Repudiation and therefore had caused the death of Relena Peacecraft. It was a sensation that she neither choked on nor put away. She let it ride its course, forming out her path in front of her.  
  
A young man entered the room where Zechs and Une stared at each other.  
"Colonel," he called.  
Zechs looked away from Une. The two had been in the room alone after Zechs called in one of his soldiers to take Dox and the young girl away. Seeing that neither needed to be in the way of this confrontation.  
"Colonel... we just received a transmission from space..." he walked up to the officer and handed the sheet of paper to him. His look of solemn despair sent him into a sudden shock.  
As he looked at ht paper, tears formed in his eyes but fell away almost as quickly. He crumpled the page in his hand and looked up at Lady Une.  
"Commander," he spoke dryly, "take your man and go."  
He walked out of the office beckoning the young man to follow.  
"Who..." was all he could bring out to ask.  
The young man cleared his throat uncomfortably.  
"They think it was... someone heard that it was... (ahem) Tremma, Sir."  
Zechs stopped briefly and then continued onward to his destination. He was headed out to space to stop Her Excellency.  
-Give up this war? Hell no! I just can't have her out there... Relena... -What were you thinking?  
  
Lady Une immediately had Dox hook up to Sierra. His words broke her heart but she could do nothing.  
"I'm sorry, Commander... we just got word that Relena Peacecraft was shot. The word is that she's dead, Ma'am."  
"Thank you, Lieutenant."  
She turned to Dox, having him disconnect with Sierra and without verbal contact extended an order to him. Looking into her eyes, he knew exactly what she wanted. Seconds later he looked up at her.  
"She's been almost mortally wounded, Commander. They have her in a shuttle to L1."  
-Damn it, Karizma! "Let's go," she ordered.  
  
Zechs loaded up into the newly remodeled Epyon. He was going to retrieve the body of his baby sister and bring death to the one who caused it. The one who had once swore to protect her no matter what the cost. The one he would never stop battling until one of them was dead. The one... Heero Yuy.  
This war was no longer about claiming the rock and destroying the Peace Ministers' Union. It was no longer about bringing death to Commander in Chief Drake Carter or the Gundam pilots. It was now about what it had always been... he and Heero.  
"I can't let you do that, Mr. Milliardo."  
The sound of that name caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. The voice was shrill and icy. Had _he_ caused it to be so? Whatever it was, the mission he sent a young, eager soldier to do had not been completed. This irritated him somewhat.  
"And neither can I," he heard another voice say.  
When he turned around, two women stared back at him, guns locked. One of them was as shocked as he had been.  
"Lady... Une...?" Lucrezia stared in disbelief at the beautiful woman beside her. She was lovelier than Lucrezia remembered.   
-But I thought... since she disappeared before the WASP... Commander, now?  
Her thoughts collected quickly because in several minutes, Lady Une was going to lose her composure just as _she_ had done almost an hour ago.  
"Drop your weapon and get off that suit, Zechs Marquise. _YOU_ are no longer a Peacecraft," Lucrezia reminded.  
-Then why did you just call me 'Milliardo'?  
He felt to comply but was not going to give up so easily.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Duo engaged the battle with this other Mobil suit. It was strong; its pilot was strong. It was a new model this Mobil suit, which had been constructed of a metal close to Gudanium alloy. Not the same metal but close and strong anyhow.  
  
Akiera stared at the Gundam she battled. Kya lied and now she was dead because of it. It was _him_. The braided one. The god of Death... the one who left her to die all those years ago. Her intention from the first letter that she sent him was to kill him. He left her to die and she survived. But now... _he_ was going to.  
She opened a channel to him and took a deep breath before talking to him in a hard tone.  
"Much to learn," she spoke, "So we finally meet again... for the _first_ time."  
Duo felt a fluttering pain in the pit of his stomach.  
"_Death_" she dragged, "consumes the weak... Duo Maxwell."  
Duo stared at the Mobil suit in front of him.  
--"Duo... don't leave me..."--  
In his loss of concentration, he suffered a blow from behind.  
"Argh..." he cried in pain and swung around in his Gundam.  
Now he had _two_ enemies attacking him.  
"_You_ did this to me," the voice yelled. "This is on _You---," she cried at him and took a swing with the giant fist of her suit.  
It was too much for her. All she could see was Duo's eyes. The hate he carried for her, the intent for destruction that he inflicted on her. It was he who was the one who pushed her over the edge.  
Duo was in a battle against two angry and _hurt_ women.  
"Talk about the fury of Hell!"  
It was no matter. One destroyed Relena's life and the other... what had he done to her? It wasn't even a shock to him that she was alive. Somehow, he knew that her "death" was a ploy. It seemed that _this_ was what his dreams had been telling him. After his last talk with Trowa about it, he pieced it together. When Heero informed him of the revelation of the letters, his sinking feeling was that it was _she_ who had sent them. He had no idea that it was Akiera. It was only a matter of time before Quatre would find out.  
  
Heero came upon the clashing of the two Mobil suits and the Gundam Deathscythe Hell. Duo was being attacked on both sides but was it by a team effort? Heero couldn't tell, only that they seemed to have a death wish. He watched from a distance. Duo was getting beaten hard. Every blow he encountered was somehow a punishment of previous actions that he had taken for some reason or another.  
-He needs help, Heero thought. -But do I help him or should I wait for him to ask for it?  
  
Duo briefly spotted Heero in the distance. He had a running thought as he defended himself against these two attackers.  
-Are you gonna jump in, Heero or do I have to go down first?  
These women were strong, even for the god of Death. He didn't _want_ to kill either of them until he received a detailed explanation of their actions. He knew strongly in his heart that something such as this was not likely to happen.  
  
Heero could not watch his friend any longer. In quick thought, he finally decided to assist him. Taking on the one on his left, Heero acknowledged Duo and then went into his own fight.  
"My battle is not _with_ you, Heero Yuy!" she yelled at him. In a fitful rage, she tried hard to get her way passed him.  
"It is now," he warned and locked in with her; against her.  
"Heero..." she fought back, "this doesn't _concern_ you..."  
Heero fought effortlessly against her. "And what about Quatre? Does it concern _him_, Dorothy?"  
Too much. She couldn't handle it any more. She lunged for him with a scream and took a swiping blow at the chest. Heero braced for the impact but stood his ground.  
  
Akiera caught a brief part of Heero's conversation.  
"Your Excellency... what are you doing here?" she called out.  
That distraction costed her greatly.  
Duo struck her with his Deathblow but it was not a gripping strike.  
"Why, Akiera...?"  
Recovering back from the blow, she answered back.  
"You left me to _DIE_, Duo!"  
She dropped the beam cannon she carried and pulled out a sort of sabre blade. Duo thought that was a pointless move because she could have caused more damage had she actually -used- the beam cannon.   
In a matter of seconds, she landed the blade on the chest of Duo's Gundam.  
"Now it's _Your_ turn, Maxwell, she yelled and struck again. A third time, harder still and a fourth time costed her the life of her suit and her own existence.  
"No, Tremma... this time it's yours!"  
He managed a full strength swing of his scythe and stepped back and watched the Mobil suit with Akiera Tremma piloting explode before his very eyes. He never saw her eject herself from the cockpit.  
_This_ was Zechs' new remodeled suit.* The ability to escape death as it was inflicted on the suit was the purpose of this new design. Surviving the explosion and time in space was up to the pilot. _She_ had learned from the master, himself.  
  
It had been seven years since he saw her last. Before he was called to pilot the Deathscythe, he had been involved in a battle with Oz. The unit they worked in was attacked and bombed. She had been caught under some sort of debris. Feeling that she was safe where she was, he left to retaliate.  
--"Duo... don't leave me..."--  
The memory came flooding back.  
He had left to destroy the attackers. It wasn't his intention to _leave_ her there and he told her he'd be back for her. He was coming back but when he did, it was too late. The place had been targeted hard causing the explosives stored there to go off as a result.  
He couldn't save her. She was lost to him forever. It was a memory that led him to remembering Hilde.  
He couldn't save either of them. Hilde because she chose not to be and Akiera because he left her in the "safety" of the debris. She had a will to live and now, how ironic it was that because of that will... she was dead.  
A vision of Relena reminded him that his mission _wasn't_ to save her. It mattered not then and it mattered not now that he knew who it was.  
In the distance, he saw armored Mobil suits guiding shuttles out of the Repudiation system.  
-Refugees.  
He retreated but to no avail  
Dorothy skitted away from Heero to attack him once again.  
"You don't get away so easily," she shouted over the roaring of her suit and moved in for a closer attack.  
"I'm _NOT_ doing this," he yelled and swung his scythe at her.  
She should have already been pieces of floating metal in space, just as Tremma now was. What was wrong with Heero? Why hadn't he destroyed her?  
Heero stepped back, understanding that this was a battle -Duo- had to fight.  
  
~~~  
  
Sally; with the assistance of Seita, James and a young junior medic named Mercy, tended Relena's wounds and had managed to brace her enough to move her from the hangar.  
"We have to catch the next shuttle, Major Sally."  
Sally considered James' words. He was right and since they were able to move her, she decided it was time.  
"Let's go," she delegated. "_CAREfully_" she ordered in a strict tone.  
"Yes Ma'am," the three young soldiers replied.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Zechs stepped off his Mobil suit. Lucrezia knew him too well. He wanted to get into space and would do anything to do it. She locked her trigger into place.  
"Don't do it, Zechs. I may have been unable before but I _Won't_ hesitate to kill you."  
A hint of a smile flashed across his face but was gone in the same instance. He was laughing at her. It was written in his eyes.  
-Yeah right. Just like you claimed to love me, right?  
As if reading his thoughts in her own mind, she answered with thoughts of her own.  
-That was a _Loooong_ time ago, Zechs.  
He pulled his gun and locked it on her.  
-Zechs! Lady Une was shocked at his action toward her. -I guess more changed than I know.  
"If you're intent to do it, Zechs... then go ahead. Perhaps you can show Bordman how to do his job!" Lucrezia said scornfully.  
Zechs remembered the young man but did nothing more in his concern. If he weren't already, soon the young man would be dead. War was going on all around them. His troops had been stationed, and he made certain of it, Everywhere.  
The Peace Hall had crumbled successfully and by now, all the High Ministers who -weren't- in the building when it fell were being gunned down by his men. Base Four had lost its armaments but it didn't occur to him until this moment that Commander Une must have been stationed somewhere ready to engage in military action. Which, he considered, would mean she had access to military supply. In turn, the excess amount of suits and troops, belonged to her.  
  
Commander Une also took in the excessive amounts of suits. There should not have been this many of her troops on earth. She specifically ordered that Lt. Sierra send _half_ the troops to the earth, dispatching the others to Repudiation and Base Four.   
It was an unnerving disobedience on his part to her orders and he would have suffered greatly had she not noticed the distinct difference between her supply and the new ones.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
"Sir?" came the response to Treize Khushrenada's call to his troops.**  
"Officer Tremma... I have a change in my previous orders."  
"Yes, Sir?"  
Treize caught the end of Duo's conversation with his attacker before he landed his blow to the Mobil suit.  
--"No, Tremma... this time it's yours..."--  
Because three years ago he received plans from one of his soldiers concerning Zechs' plans for the construction of a new Mobil suit and his knowledge of his right hand man's background, he knew that the girl was not dead.  
"Sir?"  
"I need _you_ to go to the Rock. Send Parraunt to the earth and tell Darrick that his orders are now yours. Send him to Base Four."  
"Um Sir..."  
"What is it Tremma?"  
Treize had engaged in battle already as he gave orders.  
"There are more troops, Sir... unidentified, Sir."  
"Not unidentified," he called as he easily destroyed the suit before him. "Protected," he finished. "Get moving."  
"Yes Sir."  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Quatre looked across the way to see his assistance. There were increasingly more suits- soldiers; arriving to give their loyal assistance. But the rage that had risen up from earth was growing. It seemed that their opponents had allies of their own.  
-Who _is_ that?  
  
~~~  
  
Heero also encountered confrontation heading straight to earth. He -knew- who had staged war on them and the time had come for him to destroy the one who dispatched orders on Relena's death.  
-How could you? Your own sister...  
"Sir! Mr. Yuy..."  
A gripping call from a distressed soldier caught his attention.  
"Mr. Yuy... we're under attack..." cried the soldier in obvious fear.  
Heero contended that this was the young man's first battle.  
"No---! I'm on your side.... No----"  
Heero listened as he flung his suit around. He searched but could not find the source. Too many explosions were present, too many suits.  
"Attention Gundam pilots. The new suits you see are allies to you."  
It was Quatre who figured out who was doing the talking.  
Trowa and Wufei observed the suits around them. Heero found the source and postponed his meeting. At this moment he no longer felt it time. His actions were too hasty. Quatre embraced the help and yelled over his communicator for those who were going to the earth to follow.  
Even Dorothy and Duo, in their battle far off from the others had stopped briefly at the transmission Quatre had sent out.  
Duo's eyes widened and Dorothy's heart sunk as they caught only glimpses of the transmission, but enough to catch the most vital of it.  
"Fo..ow.. ur... ptain… dn… e... ...t... ear... Yo... cell... cy.. eize Ku... da.. ead... ay..."  
Dorothy swallowed hard and Duo tried to swallow but couldn't. Another distraction landed itself on Duo's suit in the form of a strike from his opponent. Only seconds passed and they were in heated debate with their suits again.  
  
Quatre repeated his orders.  
"I repeat! Follow your Captain and me to the earth! Your Excellency, Treize Khushrenada lead the way!"  
He did.  
A giant mass left the battlefield space to the earth only to be met in the air under earth's protective shield by an enemy armada just as big as the troop they led.  
  
None of the pilots felt the words more than Wufei, himself. He now had one more reason to win this war. To confront the ghost of his past.  
  
~~~  
  
Lucrezia, Une, Dox and other soldiers under their command took over, executing orders to restrain Zechs and to incarcerate any other captive they found. The orders to shoot _any_ one who attempted escape for themselves -or- their leader came from Lucrezia herself who demonstrated her seriousness in shooting the first one who made a move against her.  
True, she once loved Zechs but after the last time she looked at Relena and didn't see -him-, she knew that she no longer held that emotion for him.  
-I love you no longer, Zechs Marquise.  
  
Dox had taken up residence behind the communications screen, displaying the battle going on above them while accepting transmissions from Sierra on the battles in space.  
Gardina and Carter were fighting; defending their establishments. Sierra sent over a message to Dox after he caught wind of a transmission from one of the Gundam pilots.  
Dox took the sheet of paper to an office where his Commander was briefing Captain Noin on her orders.  
"Commander... forgive me but you are needed in space."  
"Yes, Dox, I am on my way."  
"Ma'am, Forgive my impertinence but it is _imperitive_ that you leave NOW!"  
In all the time that she knew this young man, he would never have dared to talk to her this way.  
"Captain Noin, I believe that you should -also- go."  
Unaware of her knowledge he stared hard into her eyes.  
"No... I need to stay right here," she replied and turned back to face the Commander. "Lady Une... I will accomplish your orders."  
Now Une knew instinctively that there was something she had to do and that was why they were being so adamant.  
"Thank you... Lucrezia."  
Lucrezia smiled. -Perhaps she won't lose her composure after all.  
  
As Commander Une loaded into a Mobil suit, nothing could have prepared her for what she was up against in space. Her earlier sentiments concerning her Excellency were going to befall upon her and she hadn't a clue.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
* There is a referral to this in the next chapter concerning the production and such of new suits.  
  
** What? Trowa can get knocked out of his MS, float around in space and live; Une can wake up from a coma and shoot right into outer space and I can't bring Treize back from the dead? His death was injustice!! I just couldn't leave him dead and so in following chapters you will see how I saved him. Sorry but this is my story and I want Treize back!!! *tries hard to defend her stand at the same time receiving scowls back from a friend* Hope nobody minds... if you do... sorry. I will try not to make it any cheesier than this, ok!!:)  
"Long live Treize Khushrenada!" *thinks to self and then spills thoughts verbally* You know... those very words were what killed him! They -always- die when someone shouts "Long live..." isn't that sad?  
  
  
19.  
RUNNING ON ADRENALINE  
Part I: Soon  
  
The war was going strong. It was not a win-over-night battle as the war against WASP had been after the assembly of the anti group.   
Damage obstructed the onced serene views the massive building had over looked. Duo had managed to break away from the battlefield; his never ending assualt against Dorothy Catalonia. He wondered where she was and if Quatre had been brought up on the latest news.   
Now he stood on the balcony of their home holding a small box while staring out to the raging waters of Repudiation. Deathscythe keept watch to the left of him. His heart raced, and pounded in his chest. His pulse was a banging drum in his ears.  
His Mobil suit was calling to him. It was time to go back.  
-I'm coming guys.  
He jumped into the cockpit and took off from the grounds he landed on. The almost deserted Rock was hloding its own for the time. As he looked back at it from a distance he somehow knew that this was going to be the last time that he would see it. It pained him but he held on to the memories and ascended into the the heavens.  
  
~~~  
  
The campaign of war had reached -all- the colonies. No one was safe from the fury of space and earth.  
Heavyarms had suffered a great deal during the battle. Trowa landed on L2, taking refuge in a hangar belonging to Howard.  
Each of the pilots had been there at one time or another but never at the same time. The only one who -hadn't- been there was Heero but even if others didn't, Trowa and the other three pilots knew where he was.  
In the month that had passed, so much had happened. Casualty after casualty, retreat from the colonies, increasing artillery power from Base Four, Tarran Fecilities, they learned was the home base of their assistance from Lady Une and Conflict's Interest which was what Treize called his base.  
Trowa thought back to the day that he witnessed Lady- or Commander Une come face to face with the ghost of Treize Khushrenada.  
  
--"Commander! Behind you," a voice yelled.  
As she turned around to face the enclosing danger, something pushed her out of the way and defended her from the attack.  
Trowa watched from a distance keeping enemies and allies alike- away from the two mobil suits that now faced each other.  
Commander Une looked straight at the suit, her mind racing of who this savior of hers could be. Was he an enemy? He couldn't have been; it was his suit that carried the distinction she had noticed between their supply. She could feel her heart fluttering as a line slowly crackled open between them.  
in over exaggerated suspense she waited for the person's face to come up on her screen. When it did she moved quickly to cut communication.  
Trowa heard the crackling of another line being opened to her. He thought to change channels but knew that it would interfere with Treize's communication to Commander Une.  
"Lady," he offered softly. "Please... it is truly me..."  
Une struggled in the cockpit listening to his words. Unable to cut communication, unwilling to believe the words, she slowly moved her suit backward.  
-No... I saw him die... You are not him!! My Treize... is gone...  
"My Sweet Rose... look at me," he pleaded.  
She dared not to turn on her screen.  
-No! you are not him!  
"Lady... Commander..." his voice was soft and soothing. "Mistress...."  
She broke at these words. Anger filled her very being; hostility dominated her next action.  
"How _DARE_ you," she yelled, still not opening her screen and lashed out at him.  
The giant mass of her suit's hand, clenched in a fist, struck square in the face of his suit. She sent him backward and went after him, attacking him.  
"Commander---" someone shouted.  
"Sir Treize..." another yelled.  
Trowa became busy with the two loyal soldiers. Once they faced the sterness of his suit they retreated at his calm words.  
"Leave them to their fight."  
Une had exhuasted herself in strikin the Mobil suit that defended itself not. She was hurt by the realization that it truly was her beloved.  
After her retalliation to his unveiling of his personality, she retreated from him, flying -zooming- past Trowa in his Heavyarms. She knew that he was too weak to follow her into the complete distance of outer space.--  
  
Treize had been taken by two of his followers to the hospital on one of the larger colonies of cluster one. The very same that had been opened to all who suffered injury of war; where Sally had taken Relena and had been treating others.  
Commander Une had disappeared from the zone of eminent war. Her followers led on; fighting continually in her honor as did the soldiers for Trieze fighting in his.  
Trowa sat on the top bunk of the room he had been given. His feet dangled from the side, feeling the dead air beneath him. A voice sounded form the other side of the door. Actually there were two but he could only make out Howard's.  
"I suppose you could just go on in, though he might be sleeping."  
-No... no sleep for me, he thought.  
Then he heard a clear "Thank You." He sighed and jumped to the floor. He waited. A shallow knock tapped the other side of the door.  
"Yes?"  
The door opened. It was who he suspected.  
"Commander," he saluted her out of respect.  
"Duo said you might be here."  
-Duo? Duo! When did the "Maxwell" come off of his name?  
He could see that she was distressed.  
-Must be to not say "Duo Maxwell."  
In silence he reproached himself and then motioned for her to sit down at the tiny desk across from the bunks.   
The room was hardly big enough for them and the furniture which consisted of the bunk bed, the small desk, a filing cabinet to one wall and a locker opposite the cabinet on the other wall.  
"Let's walk," he changed his mind.  
"Mr. Barton..." she begun.  
-What? Not 'Trowa'? or 'Trowa Barton'?  
"Trowa..."  
-Ah... there we go.  
Again, he reproached himself at his sarcasm, even if it was only inward thoughts.  
"I am aware of what you did for myself and..." she couldn't even bring herself to say the name. "I just wanted to say thank you and ask you one thing."  
-When did she become this person I see before me? She was never this meek.  
"Not a problem, Commander." He waited silently. Nothing. "Ahem."  
"Huh?" She looked up at him.  
"You had a question?"  
"Oh... yes," she looked away.  
-Distressed and distracted. Hmmm... how can I help her?  
"Trowa... why did you not stop me from attacking but stopped those who tried to make a rescue?"  
Trowa sighed.  
"Why did you attack him?"  
She was speechless. She felt as though he had just landed a fist on her heart.  
They stopped walking and now stood under his towering suit.  
"I don't know," she gave finally.  
"Don't you, Commander?"  
She remembered it too well.  
"I was hurt."  
"Aren't you still?"  
"I saw him... die."  
"We all did."  
"Then how can he be..." she looked up at the man. Now taller by some height, this was the boy who had infiltrated her wall- who had cloaked himself as a Gundam pilot to become her subordinate.  
"And yet he is."  
"How?" Her eyes were filled with water.  
"He's at the Healing Waters on..."  
"I know."  
"So why do you not go ask him?"  
"Can I?"  
"You can do whatever you want."  
"Am I strong enough?"  
"More than you know."  
"Trowa..."  
"Let me grab my things."  
  
He knew that Heavyarms would not be going into battle anytime soon. Howard assured him taht it would only take a couple of days to repair the damage and when he returned it would be ready to go.  
"You two be careful, now," he commented as they left on thier trip to the L1 Cluster.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Wufei hid his Gundam in a cave on the Earth. Far away from civilization, he kneeled in front of Nataku.  
His stomach turned and he felt to heave but knew that nothing would be projected from the pit of his stomach. It had been... he couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd eaten last. Was that it?  
He felt a towering answer. -No.  
He closed his eyes, concentrating in deep meditation. Images flashed before his eyes. Visions of his comrades in battle, pictures of his own wars fought and finally all of them broke away as his mind rested on a nameless, faceless image with soft, dark eyes and light brown hair. He opened his eyes. His suspicion was confirmed.  
On this note, he leaped into Nataku's chest and pulled out a small box of ration. As he stared at the various contents of the box he suddenly felt that he could not eat. His insides burned and raced and swarmed in knots of butterflies. He had to see Sally. After a month of fighting she would be a most welcomed sight.  
"Is it time, Nataku?"  
He flinched at the pain of rejection. How long would it be before he could see her again? He wasn't sure if he could wait much longer. As he rested, sinking back into the seat he closed his eyes, envisioning her smile. He knew she was far from smiling at this point but the image in his mind was comforting. He thought about their first encounter only hours before this thing began. It was a feeling that never left him. It had given him strength rather than distracting him. A settling wave washed over him and he was comforted by a brief thought.  
"Soon."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Sally stared at the blond girl who lay in the bed, still hooked to machines.  
-Well, Relena... at least you're breathing on your own. That's a plus.  
She had been sitting in a chair, bent with stress and fatigue. One of the patients had come in with the flu and now she could feel it coming on. She knew that Relena was the -last- person she needed to be around.  
With a deep sigh, she hoisted herself up using the rails of Relena's bed. It made her dizzy and she immediately found herself in the bathroom doing an act that she had called in her wilder days, worshiping the porcelain god.  
After minutes of resting beside the toilet, she flushed it of its mass and then stood up and washed her face and mouth.  
"Hey... you ok?"  
She turned toward the door. Had she forgot to close it? -How rude of me, she thought.  
"Oh, excuse me... yes, I'm fine."  
Trowa walked her out of the room sensing her need to get some air.  
"What are you doing here?"  
Trowa leaned to open the door for her. She stepped away explaining her condition.  
"The flue is such a pesky thing, isn't it?"  
She nodded her agreement.  
-So is pregnancy, he thought. -You're the doctor, Sal.  
"I came with Commander Une," he replied.  
Sally sat up immediately as though she were ready to bolt.  
"Relax... she's ready to hear his story," he clamed her.  
"Hmm... and an interesting one it is," she responded. "I didn't know that he considered Karizma like a neice! From what I understand they were quite close some time ago... I didn't think he had any family..." she waved off the baffling thought.  
Trowa looked up at the mention of Karizma's name.  
"Is she here?" He was confused.  
"She's _been_ here," she answered as though he should have known. "Since... the same time as Relena... you didn't know?"  
Trowa shook his head with an expression of "should I have?" and stared at her.  
"Yeah... she came in also with a bullet wound," she sighed. "Took out her appendix," Sally chimed as if it was the most wonderful news. "The bullet was actually lodged in the edge of her pelvic cavity.. it was not a vital blow, howerver," she said referring to the vital organs of the female anatomy.  
Trowa stared at her wondering why she was telling him this information. He could see that she was tired.  
"But she's much better now. I have her in crutches and she often sits with Mr. Treize. On occassion she watches Relena. I think most of the time she expects Heero to come charging in with his beam sabre or buster rifle so he can shoot her dead."  
-Sal? Are you on something? Trowa stared at her in concern at her endless chatter. He could see that she was beginning to cry.  
"God, Trowa! Why hasn't he come back?"  
Trowa stood up suddenly realizing, or knowing completely, that she was not wondering about Heero. The tears that fell called out the name of the man she needed to be with most right now. He produced a handkerchief and gave it to her.  
"I miss him so much," Sally sobbed.  
"I know."  
He wanted to tell her to stop crying; to insist that Wufei would not have her cry or would make some dirogatory statement about it. He couldn't bring himself to make her stop, this was by far healthier for her.  
"Soon," he gave her softly, "soon."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Une walked into a quiet room. She saw Karizma bent over the bed, sleeping. Her leg was up on a chair and Treize had his free arm resting on her head. He stared up at the ceiling as he played with the young girl's hair. He caught movement in the room and turned slowly to face it.  
Karizma woke up suddenly. Her body jerked her out of sleep. She looked at the man she called "Uncle" and then followed his gaze to the woman in the doorway.  
"Commander!" She stood up and saluted. At the relief she hobbled over to Une and gave her a hug. "Mistress... I missed you!"  
Une did not return the hug. She was upset at the news she heard of Karizma's behavior toward the Gundam pilots. Not once did she take her eyes off Treize.  
"Kari... can you please leave us," she asked quietly.  
Karizma sensed a tinge of animosity from her commander and quickly gave a small wave to Treize before exiting.  
  
Une walked completely into the room and closed the door. A second later she stood beside the bed staring at him. One arm was wrapped, he had a healing laceration on his forehead that did not seem to be scarring and a bandaid where an IV had once been.  
"I can't imagine I did all this to you," she spoke with remorse.  
He took her hand in his. It was an unexpected gesture.  
"Sit down," he asked.  
She did. Moments of silence passed between them and then she finally spoke.  
"... Why?"  
Her eyes released the river of tears that she had been holding back. Her soft brown hair had grown so much. Treize took in the sightof her.  
-Why indeed.  
"Why did you wait FIVE and a half years to show yourself?" She cried angrily. Then she bent down over his chest and let the tears fall.  
He let her cry. His hand found its way through the dark strands of her hair and rested on her head. She was more beautiful than he remembered. He marveled at the blooming rose she had become.  
"Lady..." he tried calming her. "My sweet, Beautiful Rose..."  
She still cried with her face burried in his chest.  
"I saw you die," she sobbed, whining as she spoke.  
"No, Sweetheart... you saw my suit explode at the hands of a young warrior who protrayed himself much like myself."  
Une looked up at him.  
"Treize! _DON'T_ patronize me right now!" she yelled. "I _need_ to understand this! You   
_DIED_!"  
He could understand her need to vent and her feelings of pain and guilt. He had the very same when he understood that he would have to confront her again. Not that he didn't -want- to but he -did- "die" and it would have probably been better to not have gotten involved.  
"Somehow, Lady, I survived. Don't ask me how... all I remember is opening my eyes and I was floating in a brillian light."  
He thought back to that moment. Only minutes before, he rammed himself into Wufei's sabre and then he found himself enveloped in a warm, bright, captivating light.  
"When I actually came into consciousness, I realized that the brightness was actually just the flourescent glow of a fixture above me." He looked at her, observing her. She waited, he continued. "It seemed that I had floated some distance to a space station. It was a resource satelite once owned by the Winner Corporation but for some reason it had been abandoned. Now it was inhabited by a group of civilians who made their own peace there."  
He sighed as bits and pieces flashed through his mind. "They took care of me and brought me back to health almost a year and half later. When I was able to function on my own, they brought to my attention all that had happened and specified that they wanted and needed a leader. They asked if I would be willing to take the position seeing who I was when I was 'alive'."  
Une stared at him trying to believe him, trying to not doubt that this was truly him. His features were the same; more mature but the same none the less. His eyes still had a fire about them revealing to all that he was no one to trifle with. He was the beautiful man that she remembered being so awed by.  
"You doubt me."  
"Wouldn't you," she answered.  
She was right.  
"We had a conversation one eveing concerning Tuberov," she said to him, "and your trip to space. What did you say to me that night?"  
He felt as sting at her question but wanted her to believe that it was him.  
"First, the conversation was not about Tuberov, it was about the ideas of the future. Second, I had not truly planned to go to outer space and I said that you were only thinkin of your own ideals when it came to the future. Before you disconnected, I asked you to come back to me. The Lady Une that I was so fond of."  
She burst into tears again.  
"It was that night that I asked Zechs to take you out of harms way because I was worried about you."  
"So why now," she stiffened, letting the last tears trickle down her face. "Why not then? You couldn't even get word to me..."  
She was now the hard soldier he remembered. Somehow slightly different but still hard. Not like the Oz Colonel he remembered but more... disciplined. As a Colonel, she had much to learn about Oz and himself. She was confused about her own ideals and who she was. As a Commander, she had a full grasp on what her title entailed and who she worked for. It was an uncanny picture of Colonel Une of Oz and Commander Une of Terran Facilities.  
The new world order after his "death" had changed her dramatically... or perhaps it was his death that had done it. Regardless of what it was, this young woman, three years his junior, seemed now to be his equal.  
"Maybe I'm just a little bit selfish," she spoke harshly, "but do you have ANY idea of what I went through? How LONG I waited for this day to happen? Hoping against hope that you would come back to me and that it was all some horrible nightmare? In all that time did it occur to you _once_ that maybe I -needed- to know that you were alive? _Then_? Not five and half years later!"  
Her face was hard but so forgiving. Brown eyes full of emotion stared into his. All of those emotiones shined through the very depths but there was one that he had never once seen before. In the past, he had seen her display strength, loyalty, honor, anger, hatred, truth, contempt, trust- tiny as it was, guilt, shame, respect, obedience, remorse, humiliation and even a hint of love. Now when he looked into the softness of her brown eyes, he saw fear.  
It was not a fear that would bring her to her knees in cowardice. That was something she was incapable of. No... this was awe. The fear that something more powerful had brought her to this point in her life; that had given her a second chance to live a life that she would not regret. Something that gave her the strength to carry on. She was struck with the realization that this particular Something brought back to her the love that she had been waiting for.  
"Lady... I didn't want to hurt you. By the time I was ready to move forward... you were already set up in a war all you won. I learned of High Minister Terran's call to you and when you took that leap to fight for the rights of peace..." he let out a deep breath. "I had to let you fight for your beliefs. It was my idea that the people of Conflicts Interest would assist in the stage against WASP," her eyes went wide at this, "but whenit came across that you took up the suits... I called the men to retreat."  
She felt flabbergasted. She had no idea that he knew any of this.  
"It was just before the banishment occured that I received an interception of orders. Drake Carter may never know who sent the location of what is now called Repudiation to Terran... but I had to send him to a place where the legalities of the earth and colonies could not touch them.  
"One of my men managed to come across a packet of orders that were being sent to a manufacturing satelite near L5. The orders were to build a new prototype of mobil suits and the orders came from Zechs Marquise."  
Une was skeptical now.  
"Then why did you not inform anyone about these new prototypes or the production? Why did you not opt for an attack to stop these men or even Zechs himself?"  
"Because we didn't have the man power of the suits. We were not a military establishment.  
"It wasn't until a year after this interception that the people voted to take troops by storm. We had mass supplies sent to us and built our own suits based on the design of those orders.  
"We even opened our own training center and recruited from the colonies. That was hard and we had to keep it a secret. My men trained many on the use of these suits as did I."  
"So if you -intercepted- those orders... they never made it to their original destination." Her eyes narrowed at him. "How, then, did his suits become under construction?"  
Treize sighed. "They didn't until we started building ours. A tech engineer rebuilt a communication bridge that had been left behind and we started receiving transmissions... full vocal orders instead of written ones or broken orders.  
"Nobody knew we were out there, they were careless. We started honing in on messages from the Peace Ministers, from Commander in Chief Drake Carter- even Terran before he died... and you."  
She knew he was right. The satelite he spoke of was out ther just beyond where anyone would care less to invade.  
A dead space that saw very little, if any, traffic. Not even the sweepers went out there.  
"I watched your every move, Lady, and I applauded you every step of the way. I was enthralled of how you took it upon yourself to assist those young men."  
"I didn't do a very good job of it," she commented against her own actions and guilt.  
"I'd say you did just fine. The war was inevitable. Zechs was going to lash out one way or the other. By putting Dorothy Catalonia in the place of his sister, he knew it could be done."  
"I was still unable to inform Mr. Maxwell of -his- adversary," she replied.  
Treize remembered the young girl that Duo had fought.  
"I think he came to terms with it," he replied.  
Some how that young man had found a way to invoke the furies of Hell and had since engaged in a conflict all his own. A battle to write out his future by somehow correcting the moves of his past.  
He hadn't heard anything back from Officer Dayton Tremma that had been significant; just that they were holding their own on the rock for the time. He hoped that the young man would find Akiera before she found Duo once again.  
Une was now holding Treize's hand. Her eyes sparkled and a small line crossed her face in the form of a smile. Her heart was being healed even in this moment.  
They stared into each othere's eyes. He felt her spirit quicken, she felt his energy surge. Their hearts raced as he drew her closer to him. Her pulse ripped through her body, sending her blood in a rage throught her body. His hands became containers of moisture as they began to sweat. She closed her eyes, he pulled her near.  
The touch of his lips on hers sent fire throughout her body. It was the sensation of an electrical shock being subdued by an ever growing swarm of butterflies racing in her belly and in her heart.  
The embrace she took on him as she wrapped her arms around his neck sent him trembling with a burning desire. The softness of her lips and skin called to him, taking his heart of emotion beyond what he had ever imagined. He saw stars of passion where this kiss had taken him and he longed to show them to her. His heart zipped far beyond his grasp. This was a moment that he did not want to find an end to. He made no attempt to recapture his heart. She made no effort to control her raging desire.  
When the kiss broke he looked into her eyes.  
"I love you."  
  
  
20.  
RUNNING ON ADRENALINE  
Part II: Struggling With Emotion  
  
Several hours had passed, sending time running into the wee hours of the next day. Karizma stared at Relena with tears in her eyes. The guilt that filled her would not subside.  
-Where was I? What was I doing? Ugh! I am so stupid!  
Relena was quiet and still. It was comforting to know that she was now breathing without assistance.  
-If Mr. Yuy was here would you get better?  
She couldn't understand why he -hadn't- come. Wasn't it his duty to be by her side?  
--"Your life depends on her safety,"-- he had said to her.  
-Well... why hasn't he come to kill me? Why did he save me instead of letting me die? Why did I leave you, Relena? I am so sorry!  
She ended up crying herself to sleep. The rest of the night would creep away with her sleeping in the chair next to Relena's bed.  
  
Trowa had just left Sally's side. She had finally crumbled from exhaustion. Trowa had taken her to a staff lounge and insisted that she lay down and sleep.  
"I'll be here when you wake," he soothed gently. She had gone off so quickly that he was unsure she even heard him.  
Now he was headed to the cafeteria. His thoughts traveled to Commander Une and Sir Treize. Since there had not been a commotion of great lengths, he figured that she, as was he, was safe.  
Then he thought to go see Relena but he couldn't. He was afraid of what he'd see. The thought alone sent him into shuttering silence.  
What was it that he was feeling toward her? It was an ever-going question in the back of his mind. He thought about it.  
-Is it that I ... No! I mean... I do but not... whoa! No way...  
His thoughts ran around his head, leaving him struggling for answers. He sat down at a table with a cup of tea that he didn't remember buying. The woman at the register smiled at him, assuring him that indeed he had bought it.  
"Relena..." he said softly.  
A sip of the tea was comforting to his throat. Alone he sat with his tea and his thoughts.  
-Perhaps I'm not alone, am I?  
"Trowa?"  
-Guess not.  
The voice startled him. It wasn't Sally nor was it Commander Une. -Karizma? Most definitely not.  
"Trowa?"  
He knew exactly who it was. No matter what he did, he could not bring himself to turn around. Seconds later he stared at the midsection of a brown and black sweater. To look up and see the tears in the beautiful green eyes he knew would be there was overwhelming. He didn't want to.  
"Look at me, Trowa Barton."  
The voice was demandingly soft. Could he look at her? Yes. He looked up at her and then stood up. A swift move took him to her and found her in his embrace. As sobs consumed her, he cried his own tears in silence.  
"Oh Trowa! My little Brother is still alive!" She squeezed him tightly.  
"Sister," he spoke.   
They stood in this embrace for a moment before he offered for her to sit down. He then hurried to get her some tea and napkins to wipe her eyes and nose.  
"Here," he said as he gently set the cup down and handed her the napkins.  
"I can't believe you're here," she sobbed, drying her tears. "You don't -look- injured," she gestured at him.  
"I'm here for a friend," he replied.  
"So you're leaving again?"  
"I have to. War is still going on."  
She stared at him with deep concern.  
"Trowa... what happened back there? All this time has passed by. Have you had a chance to figure things out for yourself?"  
He sighed at her question.  
"Do you want me to say yes?"  
Her green eyes didn't sparkle like he remembered. That glimmer had gone with him to Repudiation where it had been lost along the way.  
"I want you to tell me the truth, Trowa. You left me -alone- and I want to know if the reason you did is the same reason you are going to again."  
"You are my -sister-, Catherine... not my girlfriend!" He struck a mental blow to his own heart. She still did not understand.  
--"You have refuge here..."--  
"You don't understand."  
She stood up pushing her chair back in the same move and leaned over the table.  
"Then _make_ me, Trowa! I didn't understand then and I _Don't_ understand now!" Her voice was hard-toned and loud as it echoed in the empty room.  
--"I have to leave, Sister."  
"Why, Trowa? You can stay..."  
"No... I can't. Hiding in the circus is not the way I choose to live."  
"But Trowa..."  
"I'm sorry."  
"Don't go Trowa! You can stay with us!"  
"You don't understand!"  
"Please..."  
"I'm sorry."  
"Trowa... you have refuge here!"--  
He stared into her pleading eyes and watched as she sat back down.  
"Please, Trowa."  
He took a deep breath. It was an even breath that hid the conflict he carried inside.  
"Catherine..." he sighed. "We were banished from the earth -and- the colonies. How could I have stayed with you, knowing that they were out there and I was safe under the protection of the Big Top and my big sister?" He didn't know what else to say. "I couldn't do that to my friends."  
"_I_ am your family! You couldn't do it to them but you could do it to me?"  
He thought back to the day when they were first attacked and remembered that he couldn't stop thinking about her.  
"Catherine... do you know -why- this war has started?"  
She shook her head, confused. -Just that Zechs Marquise is the culprit, she said to herself.  
"Because someone wanted us dead." He studied her reaction and then continued. "If I hadn't left, they would have found a way to nail me in the circus. I am fighting this war for the same reason I left in the first place. To protect You!"  
His sentiments, little did he know, were about to change. She stared at him quietly.  
"I would have gone to Repudiation with you," she admitted wearily.  
"I wouldn't have let you," he replied.  
"Little Brother... lots of things change in a matter of time..."  
-Tell me about it, he thought.  
"Trowa... I don't work for the circus anymore... I mean... I'm sure I could go back but..."   
His eyes grew and his expression was concern and suspicion. The look on his face made her trail her thought.  
"And I left for the very same reason you claim. I left to protect _You_."  
He sat back in his chair, unsure of whether to lash out at her or to consider her words.  
"Catherine... why are you here at Healing Waters?"  
She took a deep breath.  
"I just told you! To protect you," she answered cheerfully. Her demeanor made Trowa more on edge.  
"That's not your job, Catherine."  
She too sat back with a spiteful look in her eyes.  
"When you arrived at Repudiation, did they ask why it took so long?"  
"-What? Catherine... they are my friends! All that mattered to them was that I was safe!"  
Come to think of it... none of them really ever asked one or the other about their reason behind their arrival. All that mattered was that for the most part it was the same thing.  
"That's all that mattered to me, Trowa. I couldn't understand why you wouldn't stay. Was it that bad, Trowa that you couldn't even give me a reason of why?"  
He could not believe that she was arguing with him. And what was this about?  
"I -gave- you a reason, Catherine! I told you that I chose not to hide in the circus and that I couldn't live 'safe' when my friends were living banished- as I had been with them! What is so hard to understand about that?"  
"I..."  
"You question me for a simple answer, Catherine! Figure it out! It's not hard!"  
"Tr..."  
"And another thing! I didn't leave you to hurt you! I left you because I _had_ to! I didn't know how to make you understand that! I left because I would rather have lost my pride than my self-honor!"  
"But..."  
"Let me finish!" he demanded of her. "When you pleaded that I had refuge there with you, there was nothing that I was more certain of than that! You said so yourself that I had no consideration for those around me! It was because I _Had_ consideration for you that I left!  
"I would not have been able to fight again if I would have stayed under your blanket of protection! This is my call, Catherine! I was brought up to be a fighter and that's _all_ I am cut out to do! I lived too long behind a protective shield, and I learned that I don't have to do that anymore!  
"The only people that matter already love me for me and care about me because they _Too_ understand that I am who I am because of the path that carved my way!"  
Catherine stared at him, eyes ablaze at his -emotion.- He was yelling at her and something more. He had tears in his eyes.  
"To protect was all I ever wanted to do- protect those who needed protecting because there was no one there to protect them."  
He stared back at her, seeing her through droplets of tears in his eyes. As one managed to escape, he turned his face away from her.  
For a long moment there was silence. She was afraid to say anything until it was certain that he was done. With a dry napkin in hand, she moved to catch the tear that had fallen stray.  
"Trowa... I am sorry, Little Brother... I had to make sure that I was right."  
He looked at her, now more suspicious than before. Her hands were soft. It was the move she made in wiping his tear that caused him to see a bandage under her sleeve. A gentle tug helped him to take her hand and pull the soft material back.  
A large strip of gauze was held to her skin with strips of medical tape. He gave her an intimidating glare, questioning her.  
"I told you... I set out to protect you," she stammered out, trying to take her arm away from his grasp.  
With another gentle tug, and a firm grip on her wrist, he removed the bandage to reveal a fresh eight inch gash that was being held together by fourteen stitches.  
"Catherine?"  
She bit her lip as he replaced the wrap.  
"It doesn't hurt... much! Besides, Sally said it would hurt more when the stitches come out than now!"  
-Sally? Why hadn't she said anything?  
He gave her a gripping glare, encouraging her to explain if she knew what was good for her.  
"I went to a training... camp... and... well..." she was stumbling for words. "I sort of learned..." she began playing with the floor with her foot and watching her shoe as she played it across the smooth tile. "... how to maneuver in a Mobil suit! I've been fighting this war too, Trowa!"  
"-WHAT-? Catherine, are you stupid?"  
He stood up now, his anger evident in his every move.  
"HEY! If I can throw a knife and not miss, I can handle a beam cannon or machine gun as well as the next!"  
"Throwing Knives is DIFFERENT, Catherine!" He yelled at her as he held up her arm. "Don't you know you could have suffered a lot more than this?"  
Her lips and eyes formed into a pout.  
"If _YOU_ can fight to protect the ones you love, then so very well can I! You are not the only one with a sense to protect, Trowa Barton!"  
He fell back into his chair not fully believing her.  
"But -why- Catherine? Why would you do this?" He saw the answer reflecting back at him in her eyes.  
"Because I had the hopes of seeing my baby brother again and I thought this would be the only way." She stifled a giggle. "Anyway... you don't have to worry. My Commanding Officer cut my orders when he found out that you were my brother. He said he was not about to go up against a Gundam pilot. Once this happened," she held up her arm and then slid her finger across her throat.  
"Smart man," Trowa replied. "Now what's his name?"  
Catherine's eyes became giant rounds.  
"His... name?"  
"Catherine...?" His voice was stern.  
"Trowa... be nice..."  
"His _name_, Catherine..."  
"Ahem..." she stalled but could feel his growing rage. "Trowa..." she gave a warning. His glare was almost unforgiving. "Ahem..." she could not get rid of the frog in her throat.   
"One -last - time... his NAME!"  
"Ahem... Sir Treize Khushrenada."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Trowa left Catherine's side in a fitful manner. He walked down a long corridor with her in tow, begging him to calm down. Seconds later, he was barging himself into Treize Khushrenada's room.   
A startled Commander Une jumped up from her seated position as she watched, physically unable to move, Trowa walk up to Mr. Treize and hit him square in the jaw. Catherine had just made her run into the room when she saw the violent notion from Trowa's fist.  
All was silent as Treize rubbed his jaw. The thought crossed his mind that he had been taking a -lot- of thrashings in the past month. He stared up at Trowa and then peered around to see a former soldier of his standing, bewildered and shocked in the doorway.  
"Catherine," he said.  
Trowa stared at Treize and then saluted Commander Une, out of sheer respect.   
"Mr. Barton," Treize spoke cordially, "I am well deserving of your anger, however I feel to let you know that I have released her from her orders because of her status."  
"That doesn't matter to me, Treize. You should never have let her fight," Trowa seethed and then walked out of the room.  
Catherine stared at the man in the bed and then saluted both he and Commander Une who slumped back into her chair, confused as to what had just happened. Treize relieved her of her salute and motioned her to go.  
Moments later she found Trowa standing on the landing of one of the bay areas, peering down into the colony below and space above.  
"Trowa... that was really uncalled for," she whispered almost in tears.  
"I know..." was all he said.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Relena saw a face before her. It was beautiful. With eyes of stone and beautiful lips that crossed the softness of the skin. Disheveled locks of hair that fell into his eyes called for her to move them away. But he was too beautiful like that. As she stared into his eyes the room began to spin causing her to hold her head. She was trying to keep from falling but a loud noise had penetrated the silence and she was clutching the ground now, in pain.  
Thick liquid was spilling itself around her. A crimson tide washed itself over her. When she opened her eyes it was not the beautiful boy she had been staring at before. These eyes were full of pain and guilt. They were crying as they projected hatred into the world. She cried at this sight. These new eyes never cried... they never held so much emotion in all the time she had known him... or they held more emotion than he was able to project.  
"You don't love me," she spoke to these new eyes, this new boy.  
"I do," he replied.  
"But I don't love you."  
She heard the name that escaped from her mouth. It was not him she was looking at.  
She cried more as she was now standing alone in this darkness that confined her.  
"Where are you," she called out but the words echoed and bounced back at her. She turned around in every direction. He was there staring back at her but when she turned, he was gone. Then there was another. A softer one. The very same who held her. They both toyed with her, both with their cold stares at her.  
"Where -are- you?" she called again. Her voice shattered her silence. "Hee-----ro! Come and -Kill---- me!"  
  
~~~  
  
Karizma woke with a jump. Something woke her but she couldn't figure out what it was.  
-Pain? No..., she rubbed her leg but it was numb. There was nothing to decipher what it was. She looked at Relena and then almost fell out of her chair.  
"Miss Peacecraft," she called and ran as best as she could to the door. "Major Sally! Nurse... someone," she yelled.  
Sally opened her eyes at the sound of her name as did Trowa at the same sound.  
The both ran out of the room in the morning light. They ran into the direction of the voice- into Relena's room.  
"What-?" Sally exclaimed.  
Nurses were already assembled in the room, no one fully knowing what was going on.  
"She's crying, Ma'am," one of the nurses said.  
Sally moved in, grabbing the stethoscope from the offering hands of her assistant, the junior medic, Mercy.   
Relena's heart was palpitating on the monitor, her pulse racing, increasing.  
"She's' going to seize," she yelled.  
Almost immediately, as though Sally's words set it into motion, Relena went into cardiac arrest.  
Trowa pulled Karizma out of the room giving them space to work.  
  
~~~  
  
Relena stared into the darkness, still searching for him. She saw flashes of light, like lightning above her and ducked from it.  
"Where _Are_ you," she demanded pleadingly again.  
Tears streamed her face. She looked down and saw a crumpled body on the ground but it was not her body. It was someone else's. The form was familiar but not. She looked away and then turned back and he was there. The body was gone but he was there with his eyes looking into hers. It was not -him- that she wanted to see.  
"Please," she cried.  
"I love you," he said.  
"Then kill me," she returned.  
"I can't."  
The flashes kept coming. She looked around and above her. The flashes were growing.  
  
~~~  
  
Heero saw his angel in his dreams. She was calling out to him. He saw her standing in the entrance of the hangar calling out to him. Her outstretched arms indicated to him that she wanted him to come down to her. She reached up to his Mobil suit.  
  
~~~  
  
Karizma stood in Trowa's arms, crying at the sounds she heard.  
"Clear..."  
She jumped at the jolt she heard in the room.  
"Clear..."  
Again, she jumped but Trowa held her tighter.  
"Relena, don't do this," they heard Sally call.  
  
~~~  
  
Heero landed the Wing Zero and ran to her but she was walking away.  
The sound of his voice echoed in his ears but she seemed not to hear him.  
"Relena---" he yelled for her but she walked to the crumpled bodies on the floor, stopping only briefly.  
"Relena..."  
Again he called for her.  
  
~~~  
  
"Don't go," Relena heard.  
She turned around. There he was. Her beautiful boy with his eyes, stone cold.  
  
~~~  
  
He could see the lights in the hanger flashing above her as though they were losing power. He looked into her eyes and could hear her words to him.  
  
~~~  
  
"Do you love me?"  
  
~~~  
  
"Major?"  
The voice came at her in a half question, half surprise. Part of the voice questioned her authority and state of mind, the other tried overpowering her.  
"I said _CLEAR_, Private," Sally shouted at the man. Her voice was angry and full of contempt for the man who questioned her.  
Karizma jumped, Trowa could not breathe.  
  
~~~  
  
"Yes," Heero replied. "I'm coming for you."  
  
~~~  
  
Sally cried out as Relena's heartbeat sounded again on the monitor.  
"Thank God."  
  
~~~  
  
Heero opened his eyes. His heart was racing. The memory of the dream was fading but it stuck none the less. It snapped him completely awake. Relena had almost lost the fight. She was willing to give up because he was not by her side. He loved her. How could he not be there? The answer was behind the door of a room, in a building under the command of Lucrezia Noin.  
His angel had just kissed death and was pulled away by his words to her.  
"I love you, Princess. Please don't leave me, now," he spoke out loud.  
He climbed into his suit and turned all systems on. As he left his tiny sanctuary on the premises of Base Four he stared at his destination.  
"It's time."  
  
~~~  
  
"Major Sally!"  
Trowa let of Karizma, assuring her state and then hurried into the room. One of the nurses was laying Sally slowly on the ground.  
"Get a stretcher in here," he yelled. "Mercy, I need an I.V. started, STAT," he called out orders to the young assistant and then they pushed Sally out of the room.  
Trowa stood watch as they wheeled her out and then looked back at Relena. Karizma slowly entered the room, still crying and braced herself against the wall.  
"Tr...Trowa... is she..."  
Trowa turned to face her. She was ghostly white. He made his way to her and helped her to sit down.  
"She's a fighter. Even for a pacifist, she's strong."  
Karizma stared at her and then looked at Trowa. One to the other her eyes focussed in on both.  
"Yeah... a fighter."  
Trowa sighed as he looked beyond her window into the depths of space.  
"Where the HELL are you," he muttered. It was a pointless question, for he knew the answer.  
-All space and the furies of Hell... beware... Heero has accepted the mission. *sigh*  



	5. Default Chapter Title

-Ah yes... the beauty of words on paper. One of the things I love about being a writer is that the plot can change within the blink of an eye! And not only that but being the one who decides what will happen without being really sure of what -WILL- happen!! Too cool!   
*Disclaimer* The characters and locations original to Gundam Wing do not belong to me, nor do I claim them! I only claim the ones that were conjured up by my very own imagination. I write cause I like it   
and I can so nobody sue me...  
  
THE KEEPER  
  
Trowa knew that his battle had left the field of space. His mission was with these two women- one he had swore his life to protect and the other he took upon himself to watch over. It was an honor for him to take the position.  
At his request, the nurses had set Sally up in Relena's room so that he could be with both of them.  
Commander Une had checked in on him once and again. She, too, had left the battlefield to be with Treize. But unlike Trowa, they would be returning shortly to the front line. He sat in the chair opposite the two women and stared blankly at them. The steady beat of Relena's heart was soothing.  
He stared at her when he heard her take a deep breath. If the NA's hadn't listened to Sally, Relena would be gone.  
She was beautiful, he thought.  
-Beautiful and Heero's. When did this happen? I can't be in love with her... can I?  
He knew it wasn't true. As he stared he heard her talking to him. He looked at her closely but she had not moved. It wasn't a memory he was having... or was it? He couldn't remember having this conversation with her.  
"Why are you looking for me? I'm not the one," she said in his mind.  
He thought that he was imagining her rejection to ease his mind but it was her.  
"Trowa... I love you but not the way I love Heero."  
"I know," he answered to her silent words. -I love you, too.  
Why had he thought he was -in- love with her?  
"You're lost, Trowa."  
-Lost?  
"Time will come."  
-When?  
"Tro...wa..."  
He opened his eyes. He was dreaming. When had he fallen asleep?  
"Tro... wa..."  
He got up immediately moving to Sally's side but she was still sleeping. He looked at Relena and calmed her quickly as she was trying to move.  
"Nurse," he called out but a sudden grip on his hand stopped further words from escaping. He looked down at her.  
"Hee... ro..." she spoke in a whisper.  
He didn't know what to say. He was afraid she'd go into arrest again and Sally would not be there to save her.  
"Mi... yar... do..."  
He looked into her eyes. What she was trying to say about these two men he was unsure of.  
Her eyes were cold. She had lost her sparkle the same as Catherine had. But they were still full of love and peace. Tears flooded them as he leaned over her, still holding her hand.  
"Relena," he said, tears of his own forming.  
She managed a weak smile.  
"You are strong, Relena." His words were powerful.  
She nodded lightly and squeezed his hand gently. Her attention crossed the space between him and the bed next to her.  
"Sal..." she said. She puffed her cheeks out a bit and smiled as the air came rushing out of her mouth.  
Trowa nodded with a smile. -Is Sally the only one who -doesn't- know? And -she's- the doctor! Perhaps it never occurred to her.  
Relena looked back at Trowa. Her pale color was slowly growing bright.  
"Let me get the doctor," he spoke to her softly.  
She stared at him with a strange look in her eyes. There was something familiar in his. Her grip lost its strength and she let him go.  
Moments later he returned. Sally was sitting in the chair, holding Relena's hand.  
"Hey! You are supposed to be resting," Trowa called to her.  
She stood up slowly and stepped back allowing the doctor to check out his temporarily assigned patient.  
After listening to her heart, taking her pulse, checking her pupils and affirming her vital stats, he looked at Sally.  
"Well, Major... looks like your patient is going to make it."  
He smiled at her and walked out. Relena had gone back to sleep. Trowa stared at Sally. She was sitting on her bed, crying.  
"Sal?" He handed her a tissue.  
Before she could answer, Seita Bare' came running in.  
"Major Sally! I just got back... are you ok?"  
Sally dried her eyes and blew her nose. Would she never get to share this news with someone? Was it joyous news or was it treacherous? She looked at Trowa and a small smile crossed her face. He knew.  
"Yeah, Seita. I'm ok..."  
Seita looked at Trowa then at Relena.  
"Is -she-ok?"  
Trowa nodded giving nothing more.  
"I heard what you did to Sir Treize," she joked as she prodded his arm.  
Again he gave nothing. Sally broke the uncomforting tension.  
"Where did you come from," she asked Seita.  
"Huh? Oh! I got to accompany Dr.s Savage and Martin on a pull from Base Four." She chimed excitedly.   
There was nothing exciting about the injuries or casualties of war but the thrill of being able to assist in saving a life or observing the verification of death intrigued her.  
"Mr. Heero was there," she spoke, nudging Trowa again.  
"You saw him?"  
Seita stared up at his surprise.  
"Not exactly... I saw him taking off in his Gundam when we were doing our final pull of injured personnel."  
Trowa looked down at Relena. Did she somehow know?  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Catherine stared out the window into the depths of space. It had been a couple of days since Relena's brush with death.  
Trowa was so good to her, and to Sally. Catherine felt it her position to watch over him which was why she had him sleeping on the bunk behind her.  
He was able to see Commander Une off with Sir Treize but after that she saw him to his rest, as did Sally.  
The three girls, Seita, Sally and Karizma took turns looking in after Relena. They were all thrilled that she had woken up but it came in spurts as she was still very weak.  
  
Catherine could tell that Trowa longed to be in his Gundam, fighting the war that was going on at the distance in front of her.  
-When will it all end?  
She found her thoughts floating to a certain pilot, that otherwise would have never crossed her mind. When she thought about it further, she shook it far away from her.  
-NO... WAY!  
She was glad that Mr. Treize, or "Sir' he had been ordained, relieved her of her orders. Her first and only battle was more than she could handle. It was a hasty move in following him but Trowa was the reasoning behind her decision.  
Actual combat was a lot different than what she had managed- even after the trek in the simulators. Somehow she had proved worthy of going into combat. It was a mystery to her how she pulled it off.  
It was no longer a concern for her, but for Trowa... the war called for him. Space needed him. His four henchmen -needed- his assistance.  
The call she felt was more than she could handle. Her heart told her to let him go but her stubbornness would not allow her to do that.  
"I -am- my brother's keeper," she said to the world out beyond her grasp. And she meant it with full force.  
She turned around. Trowa still lay sleeping. "What do you want me to do, Little Brother?"  
It was an unquestionable answer. A deep sigh escaped her lungs. Two steps across the room allowed her to stand next to him where he lay on the bunk.  
"Oh Trowa..."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Zechs stared into outer space. Lucrezia had done an excellent job in keeping him under lock and key. He wondered if they had heard back from Her Excellency yet. By now they had to have figured out his reasoning behind convincing Dorothy to stage her death. She had done a most excellent job of it, even if he did say so himself. It was amazing what a make-up artist could do, and a molder.  
Someone had molded her body and had fixed it so that it looked to have been in the water for a little less than a forty-eight hour period. Quatre had done exactly as he hoped and took the body, cremating it before anything was revealed. The doll was so real that even the authorities didn't notice.  
Once that happened, she was free to join him in the far off distance of L5 where they managed to form their own alliances with groups all over the colonies and earth. When the WASP failed he cursed it until Relena was "advised" to invoke the banishment.  
It was an excellent plot and poor Mr. Raice had no idea what he had done. As for Dorothy... he was certain that one way or another he had lost her. The picture of war outside his window pleased him. The vision he saw of her facing Quatre or Duo, left him feeling a bit saddened. She had loved war so much... until it hit her closer to home than she expected. But soon it would all end and he would be the sole victor. Just as he stated when Libra was completely distroyed.  
--"I'll live the hard life of a warrior- till we meet again, Heero."--  
"And I will be that strength," he said as he stared at the battle in front of him. "The Powers that be will be... and they will be -Me-."   
  
  
22.  
ALL COMES CRASHING DOWN  
Part I: To the Depths of Space War Doth Go  
  
Quatre sat wide-eyed in his small confine of a room. Sleep escaped him. He could not get comfortable, nor could he be any less uncomfortable. His Sandrock called to him, beckoning him to take it to the front lines of aggression.  
-I can't, my Dear Sandrock! I need to rest, he pleaded.  
It didn't help. He was not resting and he could still feel his Mobil suit summoning for action.  
He had been on the earth for almost a week, helping Lucrezia defend her post as they waited the arrival or return of Commander Une.  
All eighteen of the Peace Ministers were long since dead. Shot by Zechs' men or killed by the crumbling of the Peace Hall. People ran around in chaos causing riots and giving no hold to authority. They rebelled against the military, against the law and even against themselves. What was it going to be like when this thing was over?  
And now with Treize back from the dead. How was that -possible-? No one had heard anything since his encounter with his Lady, Commander Une.  
The only people that Quatre knew of who had gone to see Treize at Healing Waters were his followers and a few of the men who had served under the Treize Faction and survived those horrid days of war. Upon news of his reappearance, many had to go see for themselves if it was really him. It was said that there was a secret ploy to raise up the Faction once again in his honor but it had not happened. No one knew for sure if it was true or not to begin with.  
Finally, Quatre could take it no longer. He got up and left his room.  
"Quatre," he heard. His attention turned to the voice.  
"Hmm?"  
"Are you alright?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
"No you're not."  
She was right. Lucrezia read him so easily.  
"How's Seita doing?"  
"I think she has found her calling. She's been under Sally's authority from day one but this is not about Seita, Quatre. What's up with you?"  
They were walking in the opposite direction from which he intended to go.  
"Can't sleep. I was just going to give Sandrock a once over..."  
"Quatre..." her voice was sympathetic, yet stern.  
"Lucrezia... my friends are out there and I don't know what's going on with them!"  
Lucrezia gave a release of anger at him.  
"They are my friends too, Quatre! And besides! Howard has seen every one of you... accept Heero... but we know where he is."  
"No, Lucrezia. You only think you do." He knew as well as the other three that Heero was not and never had been with Relena at Healing Waters.  
"What?"  
Quatre waved it off and continued on.  
"Q... STOP."  
-Uh-oh... "Yeah?"  
"What's going on?"  
He turned around to face her and gave her his best innocent look of "Who... Me?"  
"No... no, no, no... nuh-uh! I am sworn to protect this place, Quatre Reberba Winner!"  
Quatre coughed uncomfortably. From the single letter of his name to the full pronunciation... that was not a good sign.  
"I'm not certain but I know he's working on his own mission."  
Lucrezia stared at him curiously. A thought- almost a message as though he put it there himself, flashed across her mind's eye.  
"DAMN You, Heero," she yelled and ran away from Quatre in the direction of the makeshift 'cell block'.  
Quatre took that opportunity to obey the demands of his Sandrock. Off to the enemy lines he went, ignoring his vision of a profusely upset Lucrezia.  
  
Lucrezia Noin stood in front of the door, gun pulled.  
"Captain... no one has been here! I swear!"  
-You don't know Heero Yuy! "Did you leave your post at all?"  
The young man had. "No!"  
"Soldier... if you are lying to me... so help me..."  
"I had to go! I told Reinhart to hold my post! I was only gone a second," he argued his defense.  
She looked over at the soldier guarding the next door. He nodded that it was true.  
Lucrezia kicked the door open and positioned her gun. It was dark on the other side. Feeling blindly for the switch, she turned the light on. The room was empty. The window was open. At further detailed inspection she saw that it was not open. The glass had been cut out.  
"Damn it! Dman you, Heero! Damn, damn, damn!" she yelled and rushed out of the room.  
"You!" She pointed at a startled Reinhart. "...." Words hid from her tongue. "Stand your post," she delivered in a begrudged tone and ran away calling for the other soldier to follow.  
"Captain Noin... what's wrong," Dox asked frantically at her entrance onto the main floor. Her demeanor stated her urgency.  
"Have any unspecified Mobil Suits left here?"  
Dox scratched his head. "No... not unspecified... I been meaning to ask you about that, though... why did you insist that the Epyon be taken out? The only suit that left was the one you ordered to follow the Wing Zero."  
"_DAH_!" She slammed her fist onto the control board yelling profanities uncaring of the young men who surrounded her. "You IDIOT!" Dox flinched. "I _GAVE _NO _Such _Orders!" She wanted to lash out and slap him.  
"Um Captain... we just got word that the Sandrock has left its hangar. Does that count as unspecified, Ma'am?"  
Lucrezia stared at the young woman who was working dispatch commands.  
"Open a channel," she commanded.  
"Open, Ma'am."  
Lucrezia held the receiver in her hand. Anger boiled her blood, words escaped her vocabulary.   
"Captain... you're open."  
What was she going to say? She could imagine herself reprimanding them like little children. And they would behave as such, refusing to obey. She threw the piece of equipment hard against it's holder, shattering the small device into tiny shards and left the room.  
Dox swallowed the lump in his throat before realizing that it was his heart wrapped in fear.  
"Get that fixed," she demanded over her shoulder.  
Everyone shuffled to fix the receiver with a new piece, fearing the worst that could happen.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Heero had managed to get Zechs into a mobil suit, his redone Epyon, at the foolish obedience of a young man who seemed to idolize Lucrezia Noin. He hadn't even checked out the orders, he just assumed that the orders HAD to have come from her since it was Heero who conveyed them. After all, he was a trusted friend... right?  
-Maybe not for long, Heero thougt to himself.  
He led Zechs out to space where they were going to end this war one way or another.  
Each of them accused the other of Relena's hospitalization. The young woman had been there fighting for her life these past weeks and now they swore to themselves that the other was going to die whether she did or not. After his dream concerning Relena, Heero knew that it was going to be Zechs because he himself could take it no longer. Relena's brush with death was too much for him.  
Heero loved Relena but could not have Zechs lingering continually in the back of his mind. Zechs loved her too and refused to let Heero take her out of his life this time. He did it once before, three and half years ago.  
"No Zechs. You did it yourself when you put Dorothy in Relena's place after seeing to -her- banishment!"  
Heero was wiser than Zechs had thought. How did he figure it out and how was it that it took almost two years? He asked Heero and waited for a reply.  
Heero grew tired of Zech's voice and made the first infliction on this traitor-nemesis of his.   
They engaged in a dual to the death. It was certain that one of them was going to die on this day or at the fin of this crusade.  
  
Heero had grown stronger in combat. More so than Zechs remembered originally. He was now fighting a man who had never lost his ability of piloting this mighty beast called Wing Zero. But he felt quite content that his Epyon provided the young warrior with an equal match.  
Heero could not stop thinking about every last battle he fought with this man, Zechs Marquise.  
He would not kill Zechs as the leader of White Fang. Why?  
--"Relena would be sad."--  
He did not kill him during the WASP. And that reason being?  
--"It would have killed the Princess."--  
But he was going to kill him now. This time because she deserved to live a life with -true- peace and the grievance of death passes in time. After a while, the endless cycle of war and peace gets too exhausting.  
Beam sabres heavy in engagement of blows and strikes called to other pilots.  
For the briefest of moments, all the universe consisted only of the Wing Zero and the Epyon. At the sight of these two mobil suits in action, all other fighting ceased. It -ceased.-  
Zechs focused in on Heero Yuy.  
"I will _kill_ you," he growled.  
"Then bring it on, Zechs. Shut-up and bring it on!"  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Duo had now been in fleeting battle from Dorothy Catalonia. He could not get away from her- and she was -strong-.  
He had been unable to swipe her into bits of metal in space.  
"Why, Dorothy? Why'd you do it?"  
He swung his scythe at her but missed as she dodged it.  
They'd been fighting off and on for the past month or so. Always with she being the first to retreat. It was always such a sudden move that he was unable to follow her. It was of no consequence as he did not _want_ to follow her. He used that time to go see Howard, repair the Gundam and just breathed.  
The battle left him drained; eluded him to the purpose.  
"Because he was in the way..." she responded with effort.  
She opened a beam sabre at him and beckoned for him- daring him, to strike her.  
"You're wrong!" he yelled as he took the invitation and lashed out at her.  
"How was I wrong," she growled at him. "Quatre would never have understood... and you... convinced him..." she yelled angrily.  
Their battle was never ending. She fought him with a grudge from five years ago. Why was it so easy for him to get rid of Akiera than to destroy Dorothy?  
Dorothy was a much stronger warrior it seemed. She seemed to know exactly whent to retreat just as she had done right then, in th middle of full swing. Duo blinked and she was gone.  
"Damn!"  
He took the time and traveled off to Base Four. When he made it back into the sector near Repudiation he saw it.  
An array of mobil suits stood together forming a semi-arena while two very specific mobil suits fought in the middle.  
"What the... hell?"  
Duo raced his Deathscythe over to the half circle. Upon his approach, two enemy suits inflicted their assaults on him sending the suspended animation of surrounding enemies back into action.  
He didn't have time to breathe, the battle raged on.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Heero and Zechs continued on in battle. Lash after lash, strike after strike; they headed for each other again and again.  
"You took her from me, Heero!"  
"-I- told you to leave her alone! _You_ sent her to me!" Heero swang angrily at Zechs; pushing, pushing further as his own internal conflict consumed him. "Why Dorothy, Zechs?"  
"Who... better..." he answered Heero's interrogation. "Why not?"  
"Maybe cause your Sister who is lying there fighting for her life is the rightful heir?"  
"Eeee-Nough," Zechs yelled.  
He rammed full force into Heero, sending them both into the far depths beyond the other Gundams and mobil suits.  
  
Treize and Commander Une stopped in midflight and watched the display of action.  
"Mr. Treize..."  
Treize looked at his visual of his Lady.  
"You don't work for me any more... please..."  
"Right now, Sir, we are on the battle field. Will you follow?"  
Treize sighed as he looked off into the direction in which the two pilots zoomed.  
"No... this is a battle _they_ need to fight themselves."  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
On Repudiation, Zechs' troops had landed for an attempted take over of the small rock. They fought against the batallion from Base Four, and the other two bases that had initiated their assistance. They were only there to complete a mission. A mission to blow up Carter's base and destroy as much of the rock as possible.  
Drake Carter retreated from his fighting. He had to get back to the base. As he arrived, there came up several suits to meet him. Enemy suits; all with one message. Drake Carter was going to go down with his base.  
Wufei came in to assist the Commander in Chief, followed by assistance from a few troops from Terran Facilities.  
Carter had been struck with brute force and was taking a plunge to the rock. Due to his excellent piloting skills, he was able to make an easy landing on the outskirts of the base. the enemy suits followed as did the Altron and fighters that had been assisting.  
Wufie was too late in his approach. The enemy had struck countless blows to Carter's suit causing it to destruct.  
"Damn you..." he yelled and battled those very troops desperately.  
He took notice to several explosions going on around the base. Not just around the base, but around the whole structural territory.  
The enemies had fled from him. Their mission was done. Wufei was drained of all his hope. Pangs of war depleted his soul. He couldn't even bring himself to follow.  
He reached under his seat and felt the blade of his sword and sighed deeply. Seconds later he was heading back into space.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Duo struck his Deathblow to an endless barrage of enemy attackers when out of no where, several suits came flying past yelling out a warning.  
  
Sir Treize and Commander Une led an attack on the approaching fleet with a group of their own.  
  
Quatre raced into the battlefield where he met a confrontation of his own. Five mobile fighters led by a suit that almost resembled the Murcurious of the Oz days.  
He felt to be out numbered but took on the batallion anyway. Endless blows came upon him from the group until a shooting star came to his rescue. The shooting star stared out at the new suit and the Gundam Sandrock.  
"I got you covered, Quatre."  
  
***********************  
END PART I  
  
  
23.  
ALL COMES CRASHING DOWN  
Part II: Space Refuses the Battle  
  
Quatre acknowledged Trowa's words with much gratitude and faced this new suit.  
She was in no condition to fight. Duo had given her a lashing that she could not handle. Inside her cockpit, blood streamed her face, her helmet was cracked and her circuits were over loading. She did not want to confront Quatre now. She couldn't sustain another battle.  
Trowa easily defeated the five other suits and then left Quatre's side. From the distance, he watched the two suits as they simply stared at each other.  
"Quatre... are you alright?"  
He called but no response came back.  
"Quatre..." he called again but still nothing.  
He flipped on his screen and looked at Quatre.   
"What's wrong?"  
Quatre merely stared at the other suit. She had raised her beam sabre and had stretched out to lay the energy beam onto his suit. Trowa watched as this suit moved to attack and Quatre stood unmoving.  
"Quatre..." Trowa yelled. He headed for the enemy suit to attack it when Quatre moved out of the way.  
"Trowa stop!" Quatre yelled frantically. "She's injured..." his voice more calm now.  
-She? It was then that he realized "she" was Dorothy.  
After her swing, there was nothing left for her to do. She ejected from her suit.  
Trowa and Quatre watched, amazed at this action. They wondered why there were not other soldiers floating around if this was the structure of the new mode. Quatre instinctively went for her, grabbing her gently with the hands of his Sandrock.  
Troops from the far distance near Base Four were headed in the direction of earth, all flashing, yelling out a warning that had been missing bits and peaces in the transmisison.  
"Go," Trowa yelled to Quatre and then turned around.  
He headed in the opposite direction passing Treize and Commander Une on the way.  
"Mr Barton... you have to retreat," Commander Une spoke at him.   
He ignored her. Quatre was the only one who had passed him. The other three were out there. Seconds passed when suddenly there came an explosion behind him. The suit Dorothy had been in detonated by short circuiting wires. Trowa watched and then returned in his previous direction.  
"Trowa Barton... I am -ordering- you to retreat," she yelled.  
Treize opened communication to her. "My Dear Lady... let him go..."  
Trowa was already gone.  
Commander Une watched with tears in her eyes.  
"They are strong," she said to herself. "For Relena... they are strong."  
She followed Treize to the Earth.  
  
Trowa arrived and fell into formation with the other two Gundams who watched over the Wing Zero and Epyon.  
"He- hey," Duo called. "Where you been?"  
"Yeah! Nice of you to join us," Wufei added.  
"Where's the Q-man," Duo asked.  
Trowa sighed as he watched the battle in front of him.  
"He ran into a bit of a..." for a lack of better words, "New model with a conflict of interest."  
Duo felt his heart sink.   
They watched on.  
  
Zechs swung his sabre at Heero causing the whole suit to shutter. Heero struck back sending electrical static zipping around the enemy suit. In that moment he noticed three of his fellow pilots watching himself and Zechs continue on. An overwhelming sensation fell on him, surrounding him. It gave him strength but it pierced his heart.  
The five pilots were between Base Four and Repudiation. Duo caught sight of an explosion on the Rock. Wufei detected one on Base Four.  
Zechs half heartedly swung back. Either he was too weak or just didn't care. The others could hear the words crossing between the two pilots.  
"You will see them all in... HELL," Zechs yelled as he landed another blow. "I will -Kill- You," he shouted.  
Duo, Trowa and Wufei watched as Heero was -letting- Zechs strike him.  
"Defend yourself," Zechs demanded.  
-Heero... what are you doing, Duo thought to himself.  
-Relena is waiting for you, Heero, thought Trowa.  
-Keep fighting with honor. The integrity of war is yours, Wufei stated softly.  
-I love you, Princess. Please forgive me and I will forgive you, Heero breathed out loud.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Catherine, Relena, Karizma, Seita and Sally stared into the depths of space. They could see five objects like stars fighting- actually... they saw two moving as though they were heavy in combat. The tele-screen behind them displayed images sent out by Terran Facilities.  
  
~~~  
  
Lucrezia and Dox were assisting Treize, Commander Une and Gardina with their troops in taking in the remains of Zech's troops. All soldiers- friend and foe- were gathered as a young woman ran out of the main entrance yelling something.  
  
~~~  
  
The Sandrock made an approach and cleared the entrance in the landing bay near Healing Waters. The giant mass was broken metal; the crew inside noticed. They waited for the beast to make it's landing and watched as the pilot then gently placed something on the ground. It was a body that he'd been protecting with his shield.   
  
~~~  
  
Heero took one final blow from Zechs.  
"Now... it's my turn. You had your chance... and now... I [WILL] kill you," he replied.  
He put all his power into one smashing blow and at the very moment that his blade sliced through the mobil suit, the entire colony containing Base Four and Repudiation exploded with violent ruptures. Each sending debris into the depths of space.  
Zechs never had a chance to eject and the four Gundam pilots left themselves with no way out.  
  
~~~  
  
At the young woman's words, everyone looked into the sky at the sound of very distant thunder. An array of light, almost like a supernova twice counted, fell across the sky.  
  
~~~  
  
Sally stumbled backwards at the sight on the screen and passed out. Relena, who they had wheeled in to allow her to rest was standing at the large window, hands pressed against it. Tears flooded her eyes and streamed her face.  
"Miss Peacecraft... please sit down!" Karizma pleaded but Relena ignored her.  
Catherine stared in disbelief at the site. Her heart said let him go... why did she have to always listen to her heart?  
  
~~~  
  
Quatre could not leave his suit. He should have been with his friends. He watched as a few of the medical personnel moved in to take Dorothy to the hospital. One of the soldiers called to him but he did not answer. He -couldn't- answer. He knew that Sally would be devastated and Relena... ever since the news that she had seized before waking... but he couldn't move.  
  
~~~  
  
Someone from inside the compound on earth had turned on a transmission, sending it to everyone outside. The same transmission was being broadcast throughout the earth and colonies. Commander Une sighed. It was Lieutenant Sierra from Terran.  
  
"Base Four and Repudiation have exploded..." there was a long sigh. "I was fortunate enough to witness three Gundams standing in Formation as they watched over the Wing Zero and another mobil suit in combat. The Gundam pilots fought lo.... nd har... t...... ke..... th.... p.....ce..."  
He faded out. Everyone searched the crowd for an answer. Another message came in over the old one.  
"I repeat... this is Deathscythe Hell..."  
"Heavyarms..."  
"Altron, here..."  
"You guys weren't giving up on us -that- easily were you," the last voice said. "This is Wing Zero. Someone prepare a crew..."  
"Cause we're coming home, Baby!"  
Duo's never ending happy-hyper attitude dashed over the intercom.  
  
~~~  
  
Seita and Karizma stared at the three women on the floor and hurried to call in some doctors.  
Quatre flung open the door to his cockpit and leaped out of the suit. He stared across the room at a large screen that displayed the images heading toward the earth.  
  
Cheers from all around echoed throughout the colonies and earth. The battle was fought and won. Now there would be a true peace and the rebuilding of a nation that would begin with the uniting of troops from Base Four, Terran Facilities, Conflict's Interest and the risen Treize Faction as the stronghold basis for the new assemblance called the Keepers of Peace. Back up to the five suits known as Gundams, this new organization would carry out the New World Alliance order, proclaiming peace throughout the known worlds of Earth and space.  
  
  
24.  
THE BEGINNING - THE END  
Part I: A Love That Changes...  
  
After a time of waiting, four of the five Gundam pilots made their landing on the earth. Victory fillled the air. Troops were gathered around as the pilots exited their suits and headed up to the gathering. Heero and Trowa were greeted by Lucrezia first. Duo was met by Lady Une and Wufei took his time in walking up to Treize Khushrenada.  
"Where's Quatre," Lucrezia asked, concerned.  
Trowa sighed and looked away.  
"Healing Waters," Heero replied.  
The cheering was overwhelming. People stormed the pilots wanting to be near the victors of this ever going battle.  
"Well, Mr. Maxwell! Looks like you helped pull it off once again," Une teased the young man.  
"So did you, Ma'am," he replied looking over at Treize who now stood with Wufei.  
Wufei stood inches away from Treize. Treize prepared and braced himself for the punch he was about to receive from the young man in front of him. Everyone else had been hitting him, why should this be any different?  
Wufei took a warriors stance, preparing himself to battle Treize once more. Then, as custom called, before his attack, he bowed to the man. When he raised himself, he extended his hand.  
Treize, puzzled, took the offering.  
"Welcome back," Wufei replied softly. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted.  
"Whoa! Are those -tears- in Wufei's eyes?" Duo announced this to the immediate area and now every one was looking at the two young men.  
"Shut- up, Duo," Wufei called in his most irritated voice.  
"Well!" Duo snapped sarcastically. "See if I ever be observant of -You- again," he chided.  
"I hope you don't," was Wufei's answer.  
Everyone laughed at Duo's defeated face.  
"Thank you," Treize finally replied after taking notice of the tears that Wufei indeed had building in his eyes. "I must say, however... it was an honor being killed by you."  
Wufei half smiled and released the shake.  
"I'm glad I -didn't- win after all," he replied.  
"Come on, everyone, Let's go inside," Lady Une insisted and took the pilots, herself with Treize, Lucrezia and Sergeant Major Dox in through the gates. Gardina and his troops left with the opposing troops in custody.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
Quatre stared into the ICU room where Dorothy lay. Only days ago, or had it been weeks, Quatre thought, that was Relena laying there hooked up to machines battling for her life.  
He watched the breathing apparatus move slowly up and down and wondered off into the past.   
--Officers had just told him that the body of Dorothy Catalonia had been found eight miles from Concord. Instead of letting authorities take care of their business, he insisted that he take the body and have her cremated.  
"She deserves a proper burial," he siad in a defiant tone.  
"Yes, Sir, we understand but don't you think..."  
"NO! I am taking her," he spoke harshly and he did. He took the body and had it cremated. --  
-How could this be? And this whole time THIS is who Duo was fighting with. No wonder he didn't want my assistance. He stared at the inanimate body on the other side of the glass.   
-Why, Dorothy. We could have been good together. But time changes things. I don't know if ever I'll understand.  
"And perhaps it is better that you don't, Mr. Quatre."  
Quatre turned around to see Seita Bare' standing there behind him. Was he talking out loud? Her eyes answered that he was.  
"I knew that I knew her... Dorothy Catalonia."  
Quatre dried the tears that threatened to escape.  
"Yeah. That's her," he replied.  
"She always talked of one she called 'Sad Eyes'. Said those eyes never wanted to see the pangs of war but they had and now they would be forever sad." Quatre was silent. "But she was wrong. Your eyes aren't forever sad. Not when you look at Captain Noin," she replied.  
Quatre flushed slightly at this revelation of hers.  
"Perhaps you are right," he smiled at her.  
"Yeah," she answered and grabbed his arm. "Come on, there is someone who would love to see you."  
Quatre inquired of how they knew he was there just as she pulled him out of the ICU area. They were greeted by mass people all waiting to congratulate him and show their appreciation.  
"Do you think you can land a Gundam and no one would notice?" Her smile was warm and caring. She was no longer the little girl that annoyed him before. In the passing months, she seemed to have changed; matured rather beautifully. Now he would be honored to call her a friend instead of referring to her as the pesky little brat who needed some discipline training. He laughed to himself. That was something more on the line of Lucrezia's thoughts.  
"Mr. Winner.. how does it feel now that the war is over?"   
"Mr. Winner... what will you and your fellow pilots do now?"  
"Sir... can you tell us what you are feeling right now?"  
Quatre stared at all the people and tried catching all the incoming questions. He looked in the crowd and saw a very weak, but strong looking Relena bracing herself on the wall. Karizma stood behind her at some distance. Her eyes sparkled at him.  
"How does it feel to be part of the winning team?"  
Quatre looked at the questioning man.  
"I always was a -Winner-," he replied with a smile. "But never Alone." He pushed back through the crowd and walked up to Relena. When he took his friend's hands in his, Karizma and Seita became the guards that kept the media away as Quatre walked Relena down the hall and disappeared around the corner. Once out of sight, he hugged her and held on tight.  
"Relena..."  
"I was so worried," she began to cry. "I was so scared, Quat..re..."  
He held on to her and let her cry. "How's Sally?"  
Relena looked up at Quatre and dried her eyes. Sniffling, she smiled. "Just wait," was her reply as she led him down the hall to where Sally and Catherine were waiting, both laying down. Sally was hooked up to another IV.  
"Sally, are you ok?"  
"Quatre!" Catherine exclaimed.  
"Q-Man,"Sally smiled. "Yeah... a little dehydrated, that's all. Too much excitement left me drained," she replied.  
Quatre stared at her and smiled. Walking over to her after a quick hello hug to Catherine and then hugged Sally. Words did not cross between them, she knew that he knew. She knew that they all knew.  
-How did they know?  
"We gotta get you ladies back to the earth," Quatre smiled as he looked at the three women, two of whom were the closest to him.  
"Can we come too," Seita called from the doorway.  
Everyone laughed.  
As they were heading to the shuttle bay, Quatre stopped short and looked down the corridor to the intensive care area.  
"Quatre... I can have her transported to the earth once she is stable enough to move," Sally said, hand on his shoulder.  
"Whatever you think is best," he replied.  
  
* ~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~ *  
  
When the shuttle finally landed a the port, a rush gusted past the attendant who had barely enough time to open the hatch between the shuttle and landing gate.  
Catherine ran up to Trowa and punched him in the chin, causing him to fall backwards.  
"Don't _EVER_ do that to me again, Trowa Barton!"  
She fell on top of him, hugging him and crying. "I lost you once, Little Brother! I am not doing that again!"  
"Ok, Sister," he offered in a big surprise. "I told you I'd be back."  
Wufei walked up to Sally in a casual manner and held her hands.  
"Woman."  
Sally stared into his dark eyes. They were so sad the last time she looked into them. Full of love but sad. Now they were full of love and filled with joy.  
He put a hand on her stomach. Pulling her to him with the other hand he then kissed her. Suddenly the whole world behind him, who was now cheering him on, was no longer there. It was only his love and himself.  
Sally pulled away, holding his hand on her stomach.  
"How did you know?"  
He arched an eyebrow at her. "A Father knows."  
  
Treize was holding Lady Une as they watched the young pilots. She was content that they would now have their lives to live with the ones they loved. She sighed; her life would also be filled with love. Treize would forever be by her side. As if reading her thoughts, he pulled her just a little closer and nuzzled her ear.  
"I love you," he whispered.   
She smiled.  
  
Lucrezia walked up to Quatre and extended her hand to him. "Welcome back, Soldier," she smiled at him.  
His eyes did not smile, nor did his lips. He stared at her as though he did not know her. Lucrezia started to back away when he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. In one swift move, he kissed her lovingly and would not let her go.  
The others watched in amazement. Even Duo was speechless for a second.  
"Hey, Quatre! Nice Catch!" he laughed. "OW!" he yelled and turned around.   
Heero stood beside him with a smirk on his face. His hand had somehow found its way to smacking Duo upside the head.  
Quatre finally pulled away and looked at Duo.  
"I know!" He looked back at Lucrezia and smiled. "And it's my honor," he continued.  
Then they watched as Duo became the target for a running and excited Seita Bare'.  
"I was so worried," she exclaimed as she ran up to him and hugged him tightly.   
His look of surprise sent the others rolling. Quatre was thankful that it wasn't him. Lucrezia watched Quatre's features and smiled, also thankful.  
"Hey... hey..." he said and semi-returned the hug. He could not bring himself to allow her to feel more than he did.  
  
Karizma casually exited the corridor and then stepped aside for Relena.  
Relena was walking carefully and slowly. Karizma had not even a limp from her injury. All the excitement and commotion stopped upon sight of Relena.  
Heero stepped up sort of relieving Karizma of her duties.  
Karizma took a couple of steps up to Torwa and stuck her hand out. He accepted it and then pulled her close and hugged her. He held her like that while he watched the others.  
Catherine walked over to Sally and Wufei and hugged both of them.  
"I had no idea," she said to Sally and congratulated them.  
Heero stared into Relena's eyes. He ignored all that was going on behind them. She stared into the Prussian blue eyes that she held so dear. Niether physically spoke. Only with her eyes did she confess her feelings and with his he replied that somehow he knew. As a tear fell, he reached up and caught it on his finger.  
He pulled her to him and hugged her. It was all he could do to keep her from seeing the tears that were swelling in his eyes.  
"I love you," she whispered.  
"I know."  
Seconds later, their moment was interrupted by an -outburst- from Trowa.  
Catherine had an overwhelming feeling that she needed to quench.  
"HEY! That's..." Trowa yelled.  
Heero and Relena turned around and their eyes grew to giant spheres and their mouths dropped.  
Catherine had stepped up to Duo and stared him square in the face. Now, she was kissing him.  
At first he was shocked but it was pleasing and he wrapped his arms around her.  
Quatre stepped up to Trowa and lifted his jaw closing his mouth.  
"An open mouth is obviously an invitation," Quatre spoke as he walked away winking at Karizma.  
Karizma blushed at his implication. Her eyes wer on one she'd never have, that was true but to steal a kiss from someone? She was trained better than that.  
"Well..." Duo said as the kiss ended. His voice trailed as though he were being thrown back into the depths of space. "Whatever I did to deserve that... let me just go and do it again!"  
Everyone except Trowa laughed.  
"Hey, now..." Trowa interjected.  
A hand on his arm caused him to pipe down. He turned to face Heero and Relena.  
"Let's go," Heero spoke softly.  
  
  
25.  
THE BEGINNING- THE END  
Part II: ...A Bond That Remains  
  
One Month Later  
  
The Sank Kingdom was being revived by it's rightful heir. Renovations were being made and memories were being laid to rest.  
Dorothy, after recovering from her injuries, had agreed to under go psychiatric counseling and had been making slow progress. It seemed a long and painful road ahead of her as the certain death of her Prince had come to her knowledge. All the things of the past came up and around her once again and this time she had people who wanted peace and happiness to help her instead of someone who was still obsessed with ruling the world. She and Quatre spent some time together, but only because he wanted to understand what happened. It was dizzying for him to hear that Zechs had convinced her so that he could send Relena away and put Dorothy in her place. Together they would rule victorious, he had told her. Quatre didn't understand.  
He told Dorothy that Hilde had been executed for such actions. Dorothy responded that she remembered hearing about it. But Zechs had assured her that they wouldn't do that to her and since Relena was not fond of the punishment, her judgement was the treatment and therapy for Dorothy. It was warned that if she ever posed to be a threat that the execution would come but Dorothy claimed whole-heartedly that she didn't have the strength to go into battle again. Nor did she have a desire to rule over anyone.  
Rumor had it that she was heartbroken but refused to show it and nobody was really sure if it was because Zechs was gone or because Quatre was with Lucrezia Noin now. Some said it was a little bit of both.   
Quatre and Lucrezia had remained closer in their relationship. They loved each other and for them, that was enough.  
Duo and Catherine had become quite the item. It had taken a little getting used to for Trowa but his sister was happy and who was he not to be for her. They were, afterall, an amusing couple to watch. They always argued about one thing or another but she kept him in line and he allowed her too. In fact, they had noticed that Duo had grown a need to be reprimanded and would tease him about it. Duo would always defend himself that discipline was good for him. The others would often take that and then toss it back at him in the form of pulling his braid or smacking his head for no reason. Catherine would then defend him but not before laughing at him.  
  
Heero and Relena had spent the last four weeks in each others company.  
-- It had been only three days. Everything was settling around them. Outside the world was going on, the mansion was being rebuilt, friends were forever gathered but on the inside, it was just the two of them and the servants.  
Heero stayed with Relena, more to be there when the realities of life had set in.  
After a week of casual contact and conversations they stared at each other. She was in her study sitting behind the desk. He was leaning against the frame of the door, staring at her.  
"Are you upset?"  
Heero moved from the door. She stood up and walked around her desk and leaned against it.  
"A little. I think I'm more hurt than anything."  
Relena looked away to hide her tears. "It's not like I planned this," she said softly.  
"Maybe it was my fault," he replied.  
"No...Heero..." her voice was soft and sincere. Sympathetic.  
He walked up to her and took her into his arms. At this they both broke down and cried.  
"I loved you, Relena. I fought this war for you!"  
He fell to the floor and she followed.  
"Heero... how did this happen? I woke up and you weren't there... I..."  
She trailed away in sobs.  
"Did you want this, Relena? You and me?"  
She looked into his eyes. The pain of seeing him cry sent tears gushing from her eyes once more.  
"Heero... I loved you, too! I wanted to be with you always!"  
"Then Why, Relena? Why this? Why now?" He stared hard at her but his eyes were tender. "It took me six and a half years to admit that I loved you, much less Tell you! Why couldn't you have said something then?"  
She flenched. His anger was too much for her.  
"Heero... it -just- happened... the day it started... or the day I woke... I loved you up to that moment and I love you still..."  
"Just not the same way you used to."  
He held her close to him. Anger at her was not a suit he could carry. They stayed like that for hours. Resting on the floor, he holding her, both crying this pain away. She fell asleep in his arms. While she slept he sorted through his own feelings.  
He knew that he didn't love her the same any more, either. There was another but that wouldn't come into reality for some time. Right now he just wanted to be alone.  
Three weeks later they were ready to part company. They hadn't seen any one else for the first month after this last war.  
Not Lucrezia or Commander Une. Not Treize or any of the other pilots. Not Karizma, who had been severely reprimanded by her commander concerning her actions toward Heero and the other pilots, or Seita. Both had been sent in accompaniment with Gardina to Terran Facilities. The day before Wufei and Sally were to be married they would be holding a memorial for Commander in Chief Drake Carter and all who lost their lives in this war that had been dubbed "The Last Fight for Peace". They had not seen Catherine or witnessed the fits that Torwa had when she and Duo kissed in front of him. They had heard from a servant that Catherine had been with Duo when he finally opened up Hilde's box and read the journals. Nathan had said that she stuck by him like a real trooper even when he didn't want to but she let him be alone when it was time.  
Heero and Relena agreed that that was definitely a trait she and Trowa shared.   
Relena had been kept informed concerning Dorothy's progress and hers and Quatre's relationship. She was glad that he could find happiness in Lucrezia Noin and that he harbored no ill will toward Dorothy. Confusion, perhaps but not anger. Things had passed quickly in the last weeks. Sally and Wufei were planning their wedding and it would be in a week and Sir Treize and Lady Une would be marrying three weeks after that one.  
  
Weidam opened the curtains letting the light enter into the room. He was startled to find Relena sitting at her desk.  
"Oh, Excuse me, Ma'am," he offered hastily.  
"It's ok," she calmed him.  
He left her quickly and then Heero entered. "So here you are!"  
She stared at him.  
"Get up... we're going somewhere."  
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh?"  
He walked over to her and pulled her around the desk and hugged her. He gave her a long, last kiss and stared into her eyes.  
"You are always going to be right here," he took her hand and placed it on his heart. "And I am only a word away. I will always be here for you and I will always fight for you."  
He dried her tears and kissed her forehead.  
After fifteen minutes of driving, they stopped at a beach house on the outskirts of the kingdom and got out.  
The morning light splashed on the windows sending rays of luminescent sparkles dancing on the ground.  
They were met at the door by Quatre who shook Heero's hand and hugged Relena. He then stepped aside offering for them to come in.  
Trowa and Duo were sitting on opposite sides of the room. Duo trying to master some game and Trowa reading part of a newspaper.  
Wufie walked in and looked at the two who had been in hiding.  
"Well good morning," he said and walked over to Relena and hugged her. He held her tight before releasing her.  
His words announced to Trowa and Duo that they had guest. Quatre stood quiet. Duo walked up to Relena and held her close. Wufei stepped up to Heero and shook the man's hand.  
"All worked out," he asked his friend.  
Heero nodded half-heartedly. Wufei was the only one he had confided in. "Getting nervous?" he responded.  
Wufei's grip tightened. "No."  
Heero laughed.  
Duo looked into Relena's eyes.  
"My sweet little girl! I love you, Relena Peacecraft. You -are- the sister I always wanted."  
He kissed her forehead and then walked over to Heero.  
"Hey!" He jabbed Heero in the arm and smiled. "How's it goin?"  
Heero had the sudden urge to pull Duo's braid out of his head. The feeling grew when Duo hugged him and pretended to be crying.  
"*gasp* We missed you so much," he mock sobbed. "Oh Heero," he joked.  
"Duo..." Heero warned.  
The others were trying not to laugh because it would encourage Duo.  
"No, Heero... don't leave us again..." Duo continued.  
"Enough, Duo.."  
Duo laughed as he backed away and shook Heero's hand.  
Trowa had only stared at them. He then got up and walked over to Heero and also shook his hand.  
Relena sighed. They were all together again. Her boys... now men.  
In the silence between Heero and Trowa, Relena knew they were saying everything.  
Trowa smiled lightly and then walked over to Relena and hugged her. She hugged him back.  
Duo and Quatre stared unaware of what was going on. Their eyes grew wider and their mouths became gaping voids in the middle of their faces when Trowa kissed Relena full on the lips.  
Heero watched and knew they'd be happy together. As much as he wanted to not accpet it, he did and used that moment to take his leave.  
  
~~~~~  
Another Month Later  
~~~~~  
  
Relena and Karizma bustled around Lady Une, who had once again given up her stature as a millitary officer.*   
"You've waited a long time for this, Mistress."  
Une's eyes filled at Karizma's words. Indeed it was too true. She looked at Relena.  
"And you? How are you?"  
Relena stared into the former Commander's eyes and then looked at Karizma.  
"Never better."  
Karizma began to cry. She still felt a sting as though she were the one who had casued this to happen.  
"Kari, it's ok," Relena soothed. "This is the way it was meant to be."  
They smiled at each other and then continued to tend to Lady Une.  
  
~~~  
  
Heero and Trowa stood back watching Treize adjust his tie. He was always so formal; professional and calm. His manners were never less than appropriately aristocratic. The two young men laughed as today he was none of those things. Finally Heero stood up and helped Treize with the tie.  
Three weeks ago, Sally became Mrs. to Chang Wufei and now Lady Une would become so to Treize Khushrenada.  
"Are you ready for this," Heero looked directly at Treize.  
"I've waited seven years for this."  
With those words it was time.  
  
~~~  
  
Heero stood behind Treize and watched the procession.  
Relena was lovely. She was always lovely though. Her soft lilac dress reminded him of the day he professed his love to her. That day seemed an eternity ago.  
Then Karizma came up. She was a sight he was unprepared for.  
Her emerald green dress hugged her nicely. Her eyes were soft green which meant that she was content.   
Treize noticed Heero's face and smiled.  
"Shall I look forward to you calling me 'Uncle'?" he joked.  
Heero cleared his throat and became straight faced. "No."  
Treize laughed.  
Then Trowa began with Lady Une on his arm.  
Sergeant Major Dox met them halfway, in full, medal jacket uniform and escorted her the rest of the way as Trowa took his place behind Heero, opposite Relena. It was this day that Heero and Karizma became an item. They were content to be together as all of them were. It had been a time of hard changes.  
Love hurt but still remained. Friendship grew and the bonds thereof grew ever stronger.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
Six Months Later  
  
Wufei and Sally had just been announced the proud parents of their new baby girl. They couldn't agree on a name and asked for help before they knew that she was she.  
The guys came up with "Junior" for a boy and teasingly "Junior Miss" for a girl.  
Wufei did not find any of this amusing. When she was born they still hadn't chosen a name. When Treize and Une saw her being held by her father they picked a first name for her. It was Sally who gave her the middle name. At first Wufe refused it but when Sally explained that it would be an honor he broke down and gave his approval of the full name.  
  
She was named after the three most important women who shared a part of him together- apart.  
Wufei invited everyone back into Sally's room and wiated for everyone to gather around and called attention to his daughter.  
"Everyone..." he started.  
Treize walked in behind him, leading his Lady who was huge at five months pregnant.   
"I want you to meet Salena Meiran."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Author's note:... this is not the end... I still have Two chapters to go.:)  
*There will come a side story at the end of this series that goes into explanation about each of the people and the building up to "The Settling of Repudiation"   
  
  
26.  
DUO'S FINAL REPLY  
  
Lieutenant Dox and Officer Tremma were now in control of the Keepers of Peace as they went into the next movement bringing to order the New World Alliance. They were under authority of Sir Treize Khushrenada and the elite from the Treize Faction, who were under authority of Miss Relena Peacecraft. It had been a beautiful merger and even more so as they all worked in compliance to carry out peace.  
"Sir," Dox called, "we have an approaching shuttle in Sector Five."  
Treize stared at the screen.  
"It appears to be a carrier, Sir."  
Treize moved around the screen.  
Tremma, get Lt. Col. Sierra on the line."  
Tremma did and Treize questioned Sierra about the shuttle.  
"Sir, it appears to have come from Conflict... General Gardina has sent men out because he said it was an unautorized leave, Sir."  
"-Confilicts Interest?" Tremma questioned.  
"Thank you, Lt. Col." Treize knew exactly who it was and turned to Dox. "Get me Gardina on the line." Moments later, Gardina stared back at Treize. "General, what is the meaning of this carrier?"  
Gardina sighed. He had no explanation.  
"I don't know. One minute the carrier was there, the next it was gone. I have two of my men sent out already to retrieve it."  
Treize looked questioningly at Gardina and then turned to face Dox once again. With a sigh of his own, he turned back to Gardina.  
"Get Sierra to send out troops, see if we can't stop her from entering Earth's atmosphere, I have a plan of my own. Do NOT apprehend her," Treize warned.  
"Sir?... Did you just say 'her'? I don't even know who it is how can you be..."  
"-I- know who it is. I am sending out two of my own. Do what you can," Treize insisted and then cut communication.  
Dox and Tremma, as well as others who were working in the control room stared at Treize waiting for orders.  
"You," he said to Tremma, "Prepare a suit. Dox, get me the pilot of the Deathscythe Hell." He looked a the radar tech. "How long till she is able to enter?"  
The young woman looked at the screen and quickly calculated. "Eighteen minutes and forty-one seconds, Sir."  
Moments later Treize was walking Duo down to the hangar where the Deathscythe was waiting.  
"I am sending my man with you, Gardina and Sierra have already dispatched men."  
"Sir," Duo interjected. "Why are you sending me?"  
Treize sighed and placed his hand on Duo's shoulder. He opened the door and ushered him in.  
"Because this is a battle you need to finish."  
"I don't understand..." Duo responded with much confusion.  
"Do you remember the construction of the new models?" Vaguely but he nodded that he had. "The man I am sending with you was trained at my facility concerning these new models and so was his sister."  
Duo's heart suddenly felt like it had stopped.  
"But I... saw..."  
Treize understood but demonstrated his concern by pushing Duo toward his suit.   
"She was an excellent trainee and proved herself highly capable of pulling this off."  
Duo had never wanted to flee from battle as much as he did now. Even trying to understand Dorothy was more appealing.  
But he had to go and so he loaded up and led his assistant inot space where he met the approaching shuttle carrier.  
Tremma knew nothing of his reason for being there. They left their own carrier in each his own mobil suit. The pilot of the carrier acknowledged their exit and headed for Terran.  
A mobil suit fromt he other carrier escaped, sending her pilot away. Four suits, two from Terran and two from Conflict, approached from behind. All had orders that they were there first as witness, second to assist in bringing them in and last as back up. Treize and Gardina specified that this would be Duo's battle with the unknown girl.  
  
Akiera stared at the soldier that destroyed her first suit. She couldn't believe that they managed to get there so quickly. All the past came washing back up to her, feeding her; giving her the strength she would need for this battle.  
This time she was going to do this right. She'd taken ten months and seven years to recover and build strength from what he did to her; or at least what -she- felt he had done. With Treize leaving Conflict's Interest, it made it easier for her to go back there because the new fleet would not know her. They took her in, healed her and even gave her a new suit. She could feel it in her stomach, knots and butterflies that told her today Duo Maxwell would die.  
Duo still did not want to fight her. He had no choice when she took the first swing. She initiated the first move and therefore, he went into his defense.  
After several minutes of speechless battle she crackled open a line to him.  
"I would never have guessed that the god of _DEATH_ would have brought back up," she hissed at him.  
Duo did not respond. After several more lashings between them, he stopped responding all together. She seethed at him over the speaker not caring that the other suits could hear her. She lashed out at him and he just let her.  
"Defend yourself, Duo Maxwell! Don't think you can be like Heero Yuy!" She remembered how it happened, the death of Zechs Marquise- her Prince who, with his own Queen would rule. "You can _NEVER_ be him!"  
Duo shuttered at her words. He didn't want to be like Heero, he just didn't want to fight this girl.  
"FIGHT TO THE DEATH, MAXWELL!" she yelled at him, in tears now.  
The others around stared confused. They didn't know whether there was a need to jump in or if he had a plan. They waited for his orders but Duo gave none.  
"Damn it, Duo! You left me to die! Either kill me for good or prepare to die yourself," she raged.  
Dayton Tremma listened to her words and repeated them to himself.  
-Duo Maxwell... you left me to die...  
"I went back for you," Duo yelled in return. --"Duo don't leave me..."-- He could still hear her and could almost still see her under the pile of debris that he left her in. She wasn't hurt, just unable to get out. He was going back for her.  
"You _LEFT_ me there, Duo! I had No way to escape! I was _YOUR_ partner! I should not have had to been rescued by someone ELSE!"  
Dayton suddenly realized that he had never really mourned the death of his sister, or her life for that matter. How was it that he missed her? Hadn't Treize said they trained at the same facility? But she was not there in all the time he had been there... or had she?  
Akiera landed a staggering blow on the Gundam Deathscythe.  
"Akiera.... no----!" Dayton yelled.  
Duo stepped back when Officer Tremma jumped in.  
"Stop Akiera! Stop! The Wars are Over!"  
Akiera stopped herself from smashing into the new suit. Was it really him?  
"Dayton....?"  
  
~~~  
  
On Earth, Heero, Wufei and Quatre stared furious at Treize for sending Duo out alone. Trowa and Relena were with Catherine, also furious that Duo was sent with out his troops.  
"I sent him with one of my men. I am hoping it will help," Treize replied.  
"Well Obviously it's NOT," Quatre yelled.  
They could see on the screen that Duo was not fighting back.  
"Sir Treize," Dox cut in, "Tremma has just jumped in."  
Treize walked over to where Dox stood and listened on the headset. Then he opened the communication to the over head. They all listened.  
"He Left me there, -Dayton-! To DIE! You Don't understand!"  
"Akiera..." he replied, "this is not the way! You're asking for death! Akiera... Please!"  
Duo was confused. He never knew that Akiera had a brother and now didn't know wheather he should continue of if he should let them settle their differences.  
"Get Out of my way, _Officer Tremma_," she ordered, "Or I _Will_ destroy you along with him."  
Treize looked at the others who watched their Comrade on the screen.  
"This is not Your fight, Tremma," Duo shouted. "This is between _Akieara_ and _Me_!"  
Dayton turned around and faced Duo now. The others in formation took a stance ready to apprehend the officer who stood between the two suits. They had all been warned that this was Duo's battle.  
Treize sent the young man because he knew that he'd try to talk her down. He didn't think that Tremma would actually turn on Duo.  
"She's MY sister! Think if it was Miss Peacecraft," he returned harshly.  
"Relena Peacecraft should have DIED!" Akiera screamed at her brother. "She should have Died when I left my bullet in her! That was MY mission!"  
Dayton swung around and finally opened his scren to look at her.  
"_YOU_ shot her? How could you... Akiera...."  
He pulled out a beam sabre ready to take her on. They could hear shame and disgust in his voice.  
"She is ALIVE, Akiera... Your -Mission- FAILED," he roared at her and then swung at her.   
Duo pushed him out of the way, rescuing her from her brother's hands.  
"Is This your idea of reveng for Relena? She wouldn't want that! This is Your SISTER," Duo threw the words back.  
"She's the one.. who tried to Kill... Relena! She's trying to Kill YOU! What is Wrong with You?"  
Now everyone was confused. Whose battle -was- this, anyway? Finally, Treize had a line opened to them.  
"Dayton Tremma. This is your CO. Step back, now. You -will- be apprehended! STEP... AWAY!"  
They watched as he complied. Two of the men instinctively held him in place. Duo was faced with Akiera again.  
"Are you gonna fight me, Maxwell?"  
He stared at her and then shut all communication to her. No voice, no visual, just silence as he stared out the window at her suit.  
  
-What are you doing, Duo, Heero thought.  
Ignoring Treize and the others he left the control room and headed for the hangar bay. Treize, after incessant complaining, finally gave the clearance for Heero to leave.  
  
"No," Duo answered to his now silent cockpit.  
She went in for the attack and when she got close enough he used the hands of his Gundam to grab her mobil suit and then held on. She struggled agianst him but he would not let her escape. He could not hear her screams at him, only held her until she stopped struggling.  
"You want to die, Akiera? It won't be by my hands."  
Duo's voice echoed inside his tiny compartment.  
  
"Duo... please..." she cried and banged on the telescreen.  
The other pilots in the mobil suits listened to her and waited. Trieze and the others litened to her pleading and too waited. But Duo did nothing; nothing to fight back, nothing to open communication, nothing that would imply what his next move would be.  
  
Finally after several minutes of her not struggling, he let her go and then retreated to Terran Facilities. The other two of the gaurdian/witnesses grabbed Akiera and took her into restrained custody.  
They all arrived within minutes of each other, landing in the receiver bay. Duo loaded the Deathscythe into his carrier and then got out and walked to where the others were unloading.  
Raging fury zipped through his body and made itself evident in his eyes as he walked up to Tremma and punched him so hard that the young man was out cold before he hit the ground. Duo then went to Akiera and grabbed her violently. He threw her on the ground and bent over her. He grabbed her by the collar and shook her impetuously.  
"I DID NOT LEAVE YOU TO DIE! AND I WILL NOT KILL YOU!"  
Two of the men grabbed him in an attempt to pull him off of her but stepped away at the emotianal rage they saw burning in his eyes and face.  
Heero, who had arrived only minutes before them, stepped out of an office.  
"Duo."  
Duo turned around.  
Heero could see the pain in his friend's eyes. It was evident throughout his features.  
"Duo," he called again. His voice was softer and more calm.  
Duo's defenses dropped. Heero walked up to him just as Duo broke. Heero helped his friend to the shuttle where Deathscythe lay waiting and loaded his friend.  
"We're going home."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Two days later, Treize received a detailed transmission from both Lt.Col. Sierra and General Gardina in each his own words. Treize took the report to Heero, who after reading it as well, took out to see Duo.  
The two men sat in the living room of the beach house where all except Wufei lived. He gave the last two pages of the report to Duo and waited.  
"In an attempt to stop her..." Duo trailed off. He looked up at Heero. "How could he do that?"  
Heero didn't know what to say.  
"Dayton Tremma took the life of his sister, Akiera Marie Tremma and then ended his own life, leaving the following behind."  
Duo flipped the page and read the words that Heero did not read.  
"Duo Maxwell, My sister loved you at one time. Her hate for you grew stronger than that love. She tried to end Miss Peacecraft's life -and- yours. If I did not take this action, I am certain that she would have tried again. Live long in the realms of peace, love and happiness the way you were -meant- to. Yours Truly, Dayton Tremma."  
Duo crumpled the letter and looked at Heero with discontent in his eyes.  
"We never found out what 'remaing pilots' meant or the seven sheets of paper." Heero stared bewildered at these words. "Will you go with me to the funeral?"  
Heero laughed a bit inside. He could see that Duo was going to be puzzled as well as grieving about this whole thing.  
"Sure," he replied and they set out that very day.  
  
~~~  
  
The next day they attended a double burial service for the two people who had fought in the wars of the past and who had somehow managed to come across each other through paths all their own.  
After the funeral, Heero left Duo alone at the fresh grave marker. He walked away with Gardina, giving Duo the solitary moment he needed.  
"We found this in her suit," Gardina said to Heero as he handed him a manilla envelope.  
The General patted Heero on the back and left him alone. He opened it and read while he waited for Duo.  
  
Duo opened a letter and read to Akiera. Before starting, he appologized to Dayton for what ever reason and then continued.  
-Ahem. "Dear Akiera. Now that I am aware of your disposition, I should say that I am sorry that I could not grant you an interview. I truly don't think that it would have been fair to either of us.  
"I would have had to deny you no matter what but there was no other way to know. I am sorry, Akiera. I never wanted to hurt you. Not even when I fought you ten months ago. I am sorry this happened to you. Rest in peace. Your partner... your Friend.. Duo."  
He closed the letter and placed it back into the envelope. Seconds passed and he tore it up into two halves and buried it in the dirt on her grave.  
  
On their way back to the earth, Heero handed over the manilla envelope that Gardina had given him. Duo took it and opened it, puzzled as he stared at Heero. He pulled out the packet and read.   
  
First mission: Duo Maxwell stop  
Orders: KILL the pilot of Deathscythe Hell stop  
Second mission: stop  
Orders: KILL REMAINING GUNDAM PILOTS stop  
  
Duo flipped the page.  
  
Third mission: Peace stop  
Orders: Death to the QUEEN stop  
  
He flipped the page again. A single name lined each of the following pages.  
  
DUO MAXWELL- stop  
HEERO YUY-stop  
TROWA BARTON-stop  
QUATRE REBERBA WINNER-stop  
WUFEI CHANG-stop  
RELENA PEACECRAFT-stop  
  
Duo flinched when he read the last sheet.  
  
MISSION COMPLETE-AKIERA TREMMA-stop.  
  
Heero observed his friend but said nothing. Duo looked at Heero and then sat back and closed his eyes. He could see her in his mind. Bright and young, so full of energy. Grayish blue eyes with ash blond hair. A smile to kill for, a heart to die for. A will to live; a wish to die.  
"Good bye, Akiera. This time I -am- leaving you. For good."  
The picture he saw of her in his mind was replaced by a vision of Catherine. He smiled. His battle was finally over.  
  
  
  
27.  
WHATEVER REMAINS  
The Bonds of Friendship and Love- May AC 201  
  
Relena stared into Heero's eyes and smiled, trying hard to hold back the tears she felt pressing to come out.  
"Relena... _when_ did this happen?"  
She stared at him, her hands in his.  
"I don't know... but I think I like it," she replied cheerfully.  
"Well you must," he answered back as he stepped away to look at her.  
"Are you hurt, Heero?" Her voice was soft and sincere.  
He looked into her eyes and saw the river waiting to gush.  
"Are you happy?"  
The dam was breaking.  
"Yes," she smiled and sniffed.  
"Then I am not hurt."  
He gave her a kiss on the cheek and pulled her vail over her face only to remove it just as quickly. He thought he'd save that job for Wufei. Her dress was long and smooth. Covered in pearls and lace, it was truly a gown fit for a queen. Sally had done her hair up in a bun with small fishnet braids leading to the bun, strands of her hair lined her face, leaving her neck and shoulders exposed. She was beautiful that way. Lucrezia did her make up and nails and in a joint effort, Seita and Karizma made her bouquette.  
"You are so beautiful," he whispered to her as he pulled her into a warm embrace.  
It was the straw that broke the camels back. Relena burst into tears on Heero's shoulder and he just held her, caressing her hair and letting her cry. He didn't tell her to stop or say that it was ok, he just let her cry.  
Relena fell into him and held on to the lapel of his jacket and cried. She didn't know what had become of her life. Before she was so in love with Heero and wanted nothing but to be with him and now she was going to get married but not to him. She didn't understand how things could change so quickly.  
"Hey..." he said finally. His hand found its way under her chin and lifted her head so that he could look at her.  
"What," she sobbed.  
"I still love you... and I am still here. Only a word away, Sweetness."  
"I know," she dried her eyes and stepped away from him. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. "I still love you too."  
He smiled at her.  
"Oh Heero," she cried again and sat down on the chair. The mirror in front of her reflected someone who seemed to not want to go through with the decision she had made.  
"You love me," he said cooly as he put his hands on her bare shoulders. "But you are IN love with him. You will be happy with him. I know you will be."  
Relena managed a smile. She thought about how truly lucky Karizma was to have this man. Her best friend. "Thanks," she whispered.  
Sally knocked on the door as she opened it and came in.  
"Is it safe," she asked?  
Heero stepped away from his sweet angel and walked toward the door.  
"Come on, best man... our groom... um.. one of them anyway, is getting antsy," she giggled.  
In a hurried fashion, she ushered Heero out of the room and then Catherine and Lucrezia followed her into the room.  
"Oh Relena," Lucrezia smiled, "You are looking so beautiful!"  
Relena broke again at these words of praise. Catherine, who was also clad in a beautiful white gown, brushed Relena's side skirt and then rubbed Relena's back.  
"Honey, it's ok," she soothed.  
Sally stared at the two girls and then looked at Lucrezia. "A Queen and her court," she said softly. Lucrezia agreed.  
"I don't know if I can do this," Relena said.  
"It's never too late to follow your heart," Catherine said.  
Relena looked up, stopping her sobs. "Oh, Catherine... I am following my heart! I do love Trowa!"  
Sally walked over to Relena and made her stand up.  
"Relena... it goes by so quick that you won't even realize its over. You will be happy with him, you said so yourself!" Relena accepted the hug that Sally offered after her words of wise.  
"I know," she replied.  
"And you..." Sally turned to Catherine. "You're not nervous are you?"  
"Well... I don't guess I should be!"  
They all eyed her vindictively but playfully.  
"YES I am nervous!" and she too began to cry. She punched Lucrezia in the arm. "You should be getting married," Catherine cried.  
Lucrezia rubbed her arm, mouthing to Sally that the punch really hurt but did not show it to Catherine. "No, no.. thank you! Quatre and I have talked about this... it's not time."  
With those words came a knock on the door. Une opened it slightly and called Sally over. A gasp from Sally made the others look up and then as Sally stepped out, Une stepped in.  
"Baby," Une responded to the questioning girls.  
"Aren't you going to be watching Salena?" Lucrezia asked.  
"Yes... Salena and Troy," she replied, Troy being hers and Treize's son.   
Lucrezia and Catherine nodded their acknowledgement.  
"Lady Une," Relena nodded her head.  
Une bowed in return. "You both look lovely," she said to them.  
"Thank you," Relena sniffed and Catherine began to cry again.  
"Stop... C... Catherine..." Relena started again.  
Lucrezia and Une tried to keep their wits about them as they handed the two girls tissues.  
"You know, Catherine," Lucrezia began to joke, "I'd have to wonder if you're not crying because you're getting married to Duo!"  
This was a joke and they all took it as such, the monotony of the shedding tears was silenced momentarily.  
  
~~~  
  
Quatre stared at the two young men who would celebrate this day as their wedding day.  
"You knooooow," Wufei comented, "I want to know what exactly you did to steal Catherine's heart," he said to Duo.  
"Yeah..." Trowa dragged as he adjusted his tie. "How DID you steal my sister's heart?"  
The room was grim.  
"How did you steal Relena's," Duo returned.  
Fighting fire with fire. Quatre felt his face darken with color, Wufei stared at Heero and Heero at Duo. Suddenly the room became filled with laughter. The truth was, all of it had just happened. It was not really set how Trowa and Relena discovered love fore each other nor was it exactly evident how Catherine came to liking Duo in the first place. It was just something that happened and was accepted. There were no hard feelings... any more.  
Treize knocked on the door and then entered.  
"Everything's ready. You guys?" They all nodded. "Wufei, you with me... guys, see you in a bit."  
Wufei followed Treize out the door.  
"Do you two want to have last words," Duo asked to Heero.  
Quatre did not wait, he dragged Duo out of the room.  
Silence.  
Heero looked at the tall young man. A man who had been through so much with him and the others and even alone. One of the few he called a friend.  
"I will never know how this happened, Trowa. All I ask is that you take care of her and that you love her. With your LIFE, Trowa."  
Trowa stared calmly at his friend. His friend. The man who helped him through so much, keeping watch over him. The person who he knew would give up his life for someone called a friend.  
"You know I will," he replied. "I've protected her from -you- this past year, haven't I?"  
Heero gave him a mock punch in the shoulder.  
"Somehow... I knew. When I saw you that day, fall into formation with Duo and Wufei... I knew." He took a deep breath and let it out.  
Trowa seemed shocked.  
"How? _I_ didn't even know! Not at that moment, anyway."  
Heero was silent.  
"To tell you the truth... I never expected it to be her... I thought it was going to be Karizma."  
Heero braced himself for battle. "Are you kidding?"  
Trowa put his hands up in front of him in defense mode.  
"Worry not! I took one from you already!" Heero gave an 'I know' look. "And I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world," he said.  
Heero's face turned solemn, as though he -were- about to go into battle.  
"You better not," he spoke.  
Trowa smiled.  
"Cause believe me... it hurts like HELL to lose something so beautiful and fragile," Heero sighed.  
"I know," Trowa returned the sigh.  
  
~~~  
  
Treize and Wufei entered the room where the two brides were waiting their escorts.  
"Girls, get ready to take your places," Treize said to Lucrezia and his Lady.   
"Sal and the other two are already waiting," Wufei added.  
As Lady Une walked by, she gave Treize a small kiss and walked out the door with Lucrezia.  
He stepped up to Relena and beheld her beauty.  
"Just like a queen. It goes quickly," he reminded.  
Wufei made an agreeing sigh.  
Treize smiled and kissed her on the cheek. He then walked to Catherine. "Radient," he smiled. To both he gleamed, "You are so lovely! I don't think those men out there even fully comprehend," he said and took Catherine's arm and led her out.  
It was Trowa's request that he give her away after stressing that Treize _WAS_ her commanding officer. And it was Relena's request, that since Heero was standing for Duo for Wufei to give her away; seeing as how she truly had no immediate family left.  
He agreed with a great sense of pride as her teacher and friend.  
"Relena..." he said and held her shoulders. "Take a deep breath and focus. Three words," he said.  
"Always the teacher," she sobbed.  
"Friend first. Now listen to me. Three words...."  
"I know, I know..." she interrupted and looked away. "Patience, composure, courage," she ragged.  
"Woman! Don't make me..." he shook a chastising finger at her.  
"Chang..." she began to cry.  
He hugged her. "I love you."  
She was silent. -Three words.  
He then pushed her away slightly to look at her. They stared at each other and sighed.  
"I much looked on you the same way as Duo," he said and then shuttered that he and Duo shared a common interest.  
"Next you'll be sharing stories about your children!" Relena giggled.  
"Woman! I'm warning you! It's a good thing he's marrying Catherine! At least, I hope, they'll have -some- authority in their lives!"  
Relena laughed. "Wufei! You sound like you can't _Wait_ for them to have children!"  
The words made him shutter more. "Please, Woman! I want to be able to enjoy myself!"  
"You? Did the word 'Enjoy' just escape from your lips?" She laughed at him.  
"Keep it up and you'll be walking yourself down the aisle!"  
Relena could see that he was getting irritated and tried to stifle another laugh but failed miserably.  
"WOMAN!"  
Sally came into the room.  
"Honey! We're waiting to get started!"  
Relena tried to put on a serious face but could not.  
"Little Duo's scampering around... Oh come now... I can hear it now," she chided playfully and giggled. "Uncie Wooofeeee!" She burst into tears from laughing so hard.  
Wufei scowled at her. "Woman! I am telling you NOW!"  
"I..."  
He cut her off with a glare. She still laughed.  
"Bu..."  
This time, he held a finger in her face, chastising her laughter with it.  
Sally laughed and went back to stand her post.  
"Yo..."  
"AH! I said Enough!"  
Relena laughed. "No you didn't! You said," She made a frown and mocked him with his scowl, holding a finger up she did her best imitation of him. "..'Woman! I am telling you NOW," she giggled.  
It was no use, he let her laugh and watched as she burst into tears. Moments later, he handed her a tissue and let her get cleaned up once again.  
"Thank you Brother-Friend," she said to him.  
He helped her with her vail, gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and walked her down to their post.  
The doors of the hall opened. The music began, the procession started. First Seita, then Karizma followed by Sally and Lucrezia.  
"Nervous?" Relena whispered to Catherine.  
Catherine shook her head nonchalantly, "You?"  
Relena did the same.  
"-Mrs.- Trowa Barton," Catherine teased.  
"-Mrs.- Duo Maxwell," Relena retorted playfully.  
Treize and Wufei rolled their eyes at the two young women.   
"How about -Mr.- Duo Bloom and -Mr.- Trowa Peacecraft?"  
Relena's eyes got wide as she tried not to laugh. Wufei put a hand on his head trying to stop the invisible pain while Treize caughed trying not to laugh.  
"Woman," Wufei reamed.  
Finally it was their turns. First Treize and Catherine followed by Wufei and Relena. It was a beautiful sight. The men at the alter took in the sight of the two young women who would become their wives.   
Trowa stared quietly, patiently waiting for Treize and Catherine to get in place. Duo stared impatiently as he waited. The difference between the two. For one it would go too quickly and for the other it wouldn't go quick enough.  
  
~~~~~ * ~~~~~  
  
And at the reception, this is the song that Heero dedicated to Relena, and then to Trowa and after thinking about the words more, to -all- of his fellow pilots. All that he called "friends".  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
So many memories and so many miles  
The road that stretches behind us  
We've had some laughter and our share of tears  
But all these moments unite us.  
  
I'll be your Friend for a lifetime  
Against the wind and the rain of every season  
Won't walk away in the hard times  
I will be your Friend  
I'm saying I will be your Friend  
  
Sure as the river runs to the sea  
High as the mountain that reaches  
You were there by my side till the end  
(And) Helped me on my feet again  
  
So in the valley walk on  
Don't have to face it alone  
Cause in the hard times  
We keep growing strong  
As we learn... as we live  
That we live when we give  
  
I'll be your Friend for a lifetime  
Against the wind and the rain of every season  
Won't walk away in the hard times  
I will be your Friend  
I'm saying I will be your Friend.  
  
~~ "I WILL BE YOUR FRIEND~~  
Micheal W. Smith  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
THE END  
  



End file.
